[Burnout and psychological distress among trainee General Practitioners]

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Occupational Health
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Burnout and psychological distress pose significant challenges in healthcare professions.
• Trainee General Practitioners (GPs) face unique stressors during their residency.
• Understanding prevalence and contributing factors is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prevalence of burnout and psychological distress in trainee GPs.
• To examine the relationship between these conditions and training year, lifestyle, and working conditions.
• To compare findings with existing literature on healthcare professionals.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted among trainee GPs from two primary care placements.
• On-site surveys utilized the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12).
• Data included demographics, lifestyle factors, and working conditions; response rate was 76.9% (n=278).

Main Results:

• Burnout prevalence was 33.8% (emotional exhaustion 25.6%, depersonalization 37.9%, low personal accomplishment 52.9%).
• Psychological distress prevalence was 40.4%, with no significant difference by training year.
• Burnout prevalence increased significantly after the second training year, except for personal accomplishment.

Conclusions:

• High prevalence of burnout and psychological distress among trainee GPs, particularly low personal accomplishment, exceeds rates in other health professionals.
• Findings underscore the need for developing preventive measures to address these occupational health issues.
• Further research should explore specific lifestyle and working condition impacts on trainee well-being.