Burnout among young Italian Internists: a cross-sectional study assessing prevalence and associated factors

Burnout among physicians is associated with poor productivity at work, dissatisfaction, and regrets about career choices. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of burnout and its main associated factors among young Italian Internists. An online survey assessing different aspects of training and working conditions of young internists was conducted across European countries by the Young Internists Group of the European Federation of Internal Medicine (EFIM). Only data from Italian respondents were analyzed in the present study. Data from 106 young Internists (aged < 40 years) working in university and non-teaching hospitals were abstracted. The median age was 30 years. Burnout was reported by 37.2% of the respondents. The main associated factors with burnout were being an Internal Medicine Resident, working in a university hospital, working extra hours than required by the hospital, managing both inpatients and outpatients, stress from inadequate time for social activities, and high workload. The absence of training or guidance on soft skills was also associated with burnout. Only 2.8% of the respondents reported the presence of a support system to deal with burnout in their hospitals. Burnout is very common among young Italian Internists with few support systems incorporated into the hospital set up. Holistic strategies to prevent or reduce burnout including modifying associated factors, should be implemented. Training for transversal skills should be added to the curriculum of internal medicine residents. Finally, a support system to deal with burnout should be present in every hospital.