Burnout Among oncologists in the Republic of Korea: A nationwide survey

Burnout in oncologists negatively impacts patient care and health care system, as it is associated with poor patient satisfaction, medical errors, leaving current practice, and/or early retirement. Because the quality of life of oncologists is influenced by various factors and ultimately affects the patient's treatment and medical system, we aimed to investigate burnout among oncologists and to identify factors affecting burnout.

A total of 130 oncologists recruited from 13 cancer centers participated in a nationwide survey. Professional Quality of Life scale used to evaluate burnout and multiple regression analysis was performed to identify factors affecting burnout.

A total of 144 oncologists were invited, 134 (93.1%) responded, and 130 (90.2%) of those completed the survey. Burnout score of all participants was 49.9, and males was 48.8, females was 53.9, females score was higher than males. According to the hours worked per session, the average burnout score increased with the hours worked per session. Multiple regression analysis showed that influencing or predictive factors in burnout were sex and hours worked per session.

To reduce burnout in oncologists, organization-directed interventions should be implemented to prevent work overload.