Continuing medical education and burnout among Danish GPs

There has been minimal research into continuing medical education (CME) and its association with burnout among GPs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between participating in CME and experiencing burnout in a sample of Danish GPs.

Cross-sectional questionnaire study.

All 458 active GPs in 2004, in the County of Aarhus, Denmark were invited to participate.

Data on CME activities were obtained for all GPs and linked to burnout which was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory--Human Services Survey. The relationship between CME activity and burnout was calculated as prevalence ratios (PR) in a generalised linear model.

In total, 379 (83.5%) GPs returned the questionnaire. The prevalence of burnout was about 25%, and almost 3% suffered from 'high burnout'. A total of 344 (92.0%) GPs were members of a CME group or a supervision group. Not being a member of either a CME group or a supervision group was statistically significantly associated with doubled likelihood of burnout (PR = 2.2). Among GPs not making use of a practice facilitator, a seven-fold higher likelihood of high burnout was found.

GPs who were not members of a CME group and did not take part in outreach visits had a higher likelihood of suffering from burnout and high burnout than those who were members of a CME group or received outreach visits. Therefore, not being a member of a CME group could indicate that the GP is more likely to suffer from burnout. Although the present study does not unequivocally establish causality, it would be interesting to see whether staying active in CME may also prevent burnout among GPs.