Personality Traits and Burnout in Emergency Medicine Residents

Burnout is prevalent in medical training, and some data indicates certain personality types are more susceptible. The criterion reference for measurement of burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which scores three factors: emotional exhaustion (EE); depersonalization (DP); and personal accomplishment (PA). Emotional exhaustion most closely correlates with burnout. Studies have yet to evaluate a link between burnout markers and certain personality traits in emergency medicine (EM) residents. The personality traits of openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism can be measured with a 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big 5 survey. Our goal in this study was to be the first to examine the relationship between personality traits and burnout among EM residents and guide future research on potential predictors of burnout and targeted interventions for resident well-being.

This was an observational, cross-sectional study conducted in March and April of 2023 in an urban, Level II trauma center, involving all EM residents at a three-year residency program. Two surveys, the IPIP and MBI-Human Services Survey, were distributed to all residents, and their responses were anonymous. We calculated raw/mean scores and standard deviations for each personality trait/burnout measure and compared them by the Pearson correlation coefficient.

All 38 residents completed the surveys. A total of 31% of the cohort reported high exhaustion, 13% reported high DP, and 42% reported low PA. Two of 38 (5%) residents reported the combination of high EE, high DP, and low PA. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between conscientiousness and EE (n = 38; Pearson r = -0.40, P < 0.001) and a positive correlation between conscientiousness and PA (n = 38; Pearson r = 0.36, P = 0.03).

In our sample, residents who were more conscientious reported experiencing lower levels of emotional exhaustion and a greater sense of personal accomplishment. Programs may cautiously explore the potential of assessing resident personality traits as part of broader efforts to identify predictors of burnout, but further research with larger, multicenter, longitudinal samples is needed to corroborate these results. The small sample size and single-center design may limit generalizability of these findings, and the use of self-reported measures introduces the risk of response bias.