Burnout syndrome in resident physicians of a Federal University

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of burnout, global, and by dimension, in resident physicians of Federal University of Piauí, and to identify possible factors associated with the presence of the syndrome.

This is a cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study. Population: resident physicians in Federal University of Piauí's medical residency programs (136 individuals). The frequency of burnout was investigated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Sociodemographic variables were evaluated through a questionnaire and their associations with the presence of the syndrome were tested.

A total of 67 (49.26%) residents answered the questionnaires. The burnout syndrome frequencies found were global=73.1%; EE=44.8%; DP=64.2%, and PA=47.8%. Statistically significant association was obtained between current year of residency and EE; between having children and PA; between current work routine and DP; and between the use of antidepressant/hypnotic medication and EE. Compared with residency programs, there was a difference in the EE dimension, which was higher among residents in internal medicine residents (88.9%) and pediatrics (83.3%). In the comparative analysis between global burnout levels and all variables evaluated, no associations were found.

Burnout syndrome was found in the majority of participating residents. There was an association between sociodemographic variables and the presence of isolated burnout dimensions, but not between sociodemographic variables and global burnout.