Burnout in Healthcare Workers: The Elephant in the Room

A "complex syndrome of emotional distress" due to occupational factors, burnout is characterized by feelings of fatigue, cynicism, and decreased self-efficacy. Burnout disproportionately affects individuals who work in healthcare and is associated with low job satisfaction, increased medical errors, alcohol and substance abuse, and impaired interpersonal relationships. (Elmore et al.)

Burnout results from a mismatch between an individual's values and one or more of the following aspects of his or her employment experience: workload, perceived control over work experiences, rewards for work, sense of community, perceived fairness in the workplace, and personal ethics and values (Maslach et al.).

Healthcare workers who experience burnout typically exhibit the following (Drill-Mellum and Kinneer):

Burnout among physicians is not only alarmingly prevalent, it is on the rise: 54.4% of surveyed physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2014, an increase from 45.5% in 2011 (Shanafelt et al. "Changes"). Certain subsets of physicians experience even higher rates of burnout. For example, in a national survey, 69% of 655 general surgery residents in the United States met criteria for burnout on at least one subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Elmore et al.). The Maslach Burnout Inventory, the most widely used research measure of burnout, utilizes three subscales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. See Figure 1. Burnout at a Glance for more Information.

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