Burnout in Neurosurgery

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Occupational Health
• Psychosocial Syndromes

Background:

• Burnout is a significant psychosocial syndrome resulting from chronic occupational stress.
• Neurosurgery is a field with a high reported prevalence of burnout, affecting 33% to 67% of practitioners.
• Understanding burnout's prevalence and contributing factors in neurosurgery is crucial for physician well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome within the neurosurgical community.
• To identify specific demographic, occupational, and lifestyle factors associated with burnout in neurosurgeons.

Main Methods:

• A prospective observational study using anonymous surveys, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS).
• Surveys assessed demographic data, occupational factors, lifestyle, and utilized the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).
• Data collected from neurosurgeons via email registries of the Spanish Society of Neurosurgery (SENEC) and Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (FLANC) between March 23rd and April 4th, 2023.

Main Results:

• Out of 282 neurosurgeons surveyed, 66.7% showed burnout prevalence, with 23.4% meeting defined burnout criteria.
• Fifth-year residents, those in departments with 500-1000 surgeries, and participants with on-call duties reported higher burnout rates.
• Lack of regular exercise, infrequent social activities, no hobbies, and elevated anxiety/depression scores (HADS > 10) were significantly associated with burnout.

Conclusions:

• Burnout syndrome impacts a substantial portion of neurosurgical specialists, with nearly a quarter experiencing defined burnout.
• A profile of neurosurgeons experiencing defined burnout includes fifth-year residents in moderately busy departments, with limited extracurricular engagement and symptoms of anxiety or depression.