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Burnout Among Surgeons in the UK During the COVID‐19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study

2021; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 46; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s00268-021-06351-6

1432-2323

Jonathan Houdmont, Prita Daliya, Elena Theophilidou, Alfred Adiamah, Juliet Hassard, Dileep N. Lobo, Jamil Ahmed, Victor Babu, Daryll Baker, David Bartlett, Ian J. Beckingham, Imran Bhatti, Adam Brooks, Steven R. Brown, Josh Burke, Hannah Byrne, Ian Chetter, Hannah Cook, James Coulston, Lucinda Cruddas, Richard Siqueira Dias, Frank J. M. F. Dor, Mukul Dube, Katherine Grant, John Hammond, Rachel Hargest, Theophilus Joachim, Annie Joseph, Naveed Kara, Dimitrios Karavias, Sita Kotecha, Anisa Kushairi, Roshan Lal, Kit Lam, Irwin Lasrado, Rachel Lee, Gurminder Mann, George Mannu, Charles Maxwell‐Armstrong, James McCaslin, Frank McDermot, Andrew G Miller, Sarah E. Miller, Jenna Morgan, Sandip Nandhra, Sangara Narayanasamy, Patrick O’Brien, Laura Parry, Kizzie Peters, Marina Pitsika, Emmanouil Psaltis, Kevin Sargen, Panchali Sarmah, Murali Shyamsundar, Chinnappa Reddy, Katie E. Rollins, Farah Roslan, Joseph Shalhoub, Matt Stanislas, Benjamin Yong‐Qiang Tan, Nilanjana Tewari, Pradeep Thomas, Tony Thomas, Jim Tiernan, Giles J. Toogood, Karl Trimble, Peter Vauhan, Luke Wheldon, Steven White, Timothy O. White, Imeshi Wijetunga, Michael Wilson, Rebecca Winterborn, Lynda Wyld, L W Young,

Innovations in Medical Education

Abstract Background Surgeon burnout has implications for patient safety and workforce sustainability. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of burnout among surgeons in the UK during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods This cross‐sectional online survey was set in the UK National Health Service and involved 601 surgeons across the UK of all specialities and grades. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a bespoke questionnaire. Outcome measures included emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Human Services Survey (MBI‐HSS). Results A total of 142 surgeons reported having contracted COVID‐19. Burnout prevalence was particularly high in the emotional exhaustion (57%) and depersonalisation (50%) domains, while lower on the low personal accomplishment domain (15%). Burnout prevalence was unrelated to COVID‐19 status; however, the greater the perceived impact of COVID‐19 on work, the higher the prevalence of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Degree of worry about contracting COVID‐19 oneself and degree of worry about family and friends contacting COVID‐19 was positively associated with prevalence on all three burnout domains. Across all three domains, burnout prevalence was exceptionally high in the Core Trainee 1–2 and Specialty Trainee 1–2 grades. Conclusions These findings highlight potential undesirable implications for patient safety arising from surgeon burnout. Moreover, there is a need for ongoing monitoring in addition to an enhanced focus on mental health self‐care in surgeon training and the provision of accessible and confidential support for practising surgeons.