Do Internal or External Characteristics More Reliably Predict Burnout in Resident Physicians: A Multi-institutional...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Residency Programs
• Occupational Health Psychology

Background:

• Surgical residents experience high burnout rates.
• The interplay of intrinsic and external factors on burnout is not well understood.
• This study investigates factors influencing burnout in surgical residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between internal characteristics (emotional intelligence, resilience, mindfulness) and external factors (work environment) and burnout in surgical residents.
• To identify key protective factors against burnout.
• To inform interventions aimed at improving resident well-being.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to general surgery residents across 7 US sites in 2019.
• Validated instruments measured burnout, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, resilience, work engagement, and job resources.
• Multivariable logistic regression models analyzed associations between constructs and burnout risk.

Main Results:

• 71% of surveyed residents were at high risk for burnout.
• Bivariate analyses showed emotional intelligence, resilience, mindfulness, work engagement, and job resources were protective.
• Multivariable models revealed only job resources and work engagement significantly protected against burnout.

Conclusions:

• A majority of surgical residents face high burnout risk.
• External factors, specifically job resources and work engagement, are more critical in mitigating burnout than internal characteristics.
• Enhancing job resources and work engagement in residency programs is recommended to combat burnout.