Surgeon Burnout among American Pediatric Urologists

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by exhaustion, depersonalization and low personal achievement that leads to decreased effectiveness at work. Little to no information is known about the surgeon burnout rate of pediatric urologists.

An online survey containing a modified Maslach Burnout Inventory and additional demographic information was emailed to practicing pediatric urologists in the United States. The dependent variable was professional burnout measured by 3 subscales from the Maslach Burnout Inventory of 1) emotional exhaustion, 2) depersonalization and 3) low personal achievement. The independent variables included surgeon demographics and practice characteristics.

The survey response rate was 66.7%. Of the 41 subjects most were male (82.9%), approximately three-quarters worked at academic centers, more than half had a rank of division chief or full professor and more than half worked more than 60 hours per week. Six (14.6%) pediatric urologists met the criteria for burnout, defined as high scores in emotional exhaustion plus high scores in depersonalization or low personal achievement. When comparing demographic and practice characteristics between pediatric urologists who were burned out to those who were not burned out, there were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups. Only American Urological Association North Central and Western sections had surgeons with burnout.

Pediatric urologists have a low burnout rate compared to adult urologists and other surgical specialties.