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Education Research: Impact of Burnout on Neurology Residents and Research Fellows in Europe
Giovanni Di Liberto1, Giuseppina Baldizzi1, Vanessa Carvalho1
1From the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (G.D.L., G.B.), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health (Neurology) (V.C.), Hospital Santa Maria-CHLN, and Centro de Estudos Egas Moniz (V.C.), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal; Department of Health Sciences (L.C.), Clinical Neurology Unit, ASST Santi Paolo & Carlo, Milan, Italy; Department of Neurology (A. Sauerbier), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne; Department of Neurology (L.K.), Technical University Dresden, Germany; University Hospital of Neurological Disorders (N.V.), Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russia; European Academy of Neurology (L.P., A. Sander), Head Office, Vienna, Austria; Department of Neurology (M.d.V.), Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Neurology (P.A.J.M.B.), Ghent University Hospital, Belgium; Division of Neurology (E.M.), CHU of Grenoble, Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences, Grenoble Alpes University, France; and Department of Neurology (C.B.), Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Background And Objectives:
To investigate the prevalence of burnout profiles and their contributing factors in European neurology residents, junior neurologists, and research fellows.
Methods:
The members of the Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) of the European Academy of Neurology were surveyed using standardized instruments for burnout, job satisfaction, social support, depression, work-related fatigue, work-life integration, and impact of life events, from September 1, 2020, to January 6, 2021.
Results:
The response rate was 23.1% (332 responders of 1,439 contacted RRFS members); the median age of participants 30 years, with 61.5% being female. Our analysis revealed that 73.9% of the responders showed a perturbation in the Maslach Burnout Inventory dimensions, thus fulfilling the criteria for a dysfunctional phenotype within the burnout spectrum: burnout (22.6%), overextended (26.1%), ineffective (21.0%), and disengaged (4.1%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that elevated number of night shifts per month, work-related fatigue, and low professional satisfaction are independent risk factors for burnout. Being a certified neurologist, working in an academic environment, and a higher job satisfaction are associated with the engaged profile, a productive state characterized by high energy, strong involvement, and a sense of efficacy.
Discussion:
Burnout experience is highly prevalent among neurology residents, junior neurologists, and research fellows in Europe. The profile-based approach in this survey captures the multifaceted nature of burnout experience, therefore highlighting mitigating strategies that can be tailored to the distinct dysfunctional burnout profile.
