The Burnout in Canadian Pathology Initiative

Burnout affects 44% of physicians, negatively impacts physicians and the patient care that they provide, and can be assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Forces contributing to physician burnout have been identified and grouped into 7 dimensions. Burnout within pathology has not been well studied.

To identify the prevalence of burnout within Canadian pathology, drivers of burnout important in pathology, and pathologist burnout mitigation strategies at an individual and departmental level.

An electronic survey was disseminated by participating departmental chiefs and the Canadian Association of Pathologists. Survey content included the Maslach Burnout Inventory and 3 free-text questions, including: "What do you find most stressful about your work?" and "What is working for you, at an individual or departmental level, to mitigate against burnout?" Comparative statistics were performed by using Pearson χ2. Significant relationships were sought between pathologist burnout and potential drivers, using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Responses to the qualitative questions were themed and mapped onto the 7 dimensions of burnout.

Four hundred twenty-seven pathologists participated in the survey from all 10 Canadian provinces. The prevalence of burnout in Canadian pathology was 58% (246 respondents), and there were significant differences by gender and years in practice. Drivers of pathologist burnout included workload and chronic work-related pain. The most frequently reported effective departmental strategy to mitigate against burnout mapped to "organizational culture," and the approach that most individual pathologists have taken to mitigate against burnout involves work-life integration.

Burnout within Canadian laboratory medicine is prevalent, and workload is a major driver.