Association of burnout with doctor–patient relationship and common stressors among postgraduate trainees and house officers in Lahore—a cross-sectional study

Abstract

IntroductionBurnout is defined as a prolonged state of physical and psychological exhaustion. Doctors, due to the demanding nature of their job, are susceptible to facing burnout, which has far reaching implications on their productivity and motivation. It affects the quality of care they provide to patients, thus eroding the doctor–patient relationship which embodies patient centeredness and autonomy. The study aims at addressing the stressors leading to burnout and its effect on the doctor–patient relationship.MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study design with convenience (non-probability) sampling technique was employed in six major hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 600 doctors were approached for the study which included house officers or “HOs” (recent graduates doing their 1 year long internship) and post-graduate trainees or “PGRs” (residents for 4–5 years in their specialties). Burnout was measured using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventor (CBI) while attitudes towards the doctor–patient relationship was measured using the Patient Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), which measures two components of the relationship: power sharing and patient caring. Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data via SPSS v.21.ResultsA total of 515 doctors consented to take part in the study (response rate 85.83%). The final sample consisted of 487 doctors. The burnout score was not associated with the total and caring domain scores of PPOS (P > 0.05). However, it was associated with the power sharing sub-scale of PPOS. Multiple linear regression analysis yielded a significant model, by virtue of which CBI scores were positively associated with factors such as female gender, feeling of burn out, scoring high on sharing domain of PPOS and a lack of personal control while CBI scores were negatively associated with private medical college education, having a significant other, accommodation away from home and a sense of never ending competition. Burnout levels varied significantly between house officers and post graduate trainees. Twenty-three percent of the participants (mostly house officers) had high/very high burnout levels on the CBI (Kristenson’s burnout scoring). Both groups showed significant differences with respect to working hours, smoking status and income.ConclusionAlthough burnout showed no significant association with total and caring domain scores of PPOS (scale used to assess doctor–patient relationship), it showed a significant association with the power sharing domain of PPOS suggesting some impact on the overall delivery of patient care. Thus, it necessitates the monitoring of stressors in order to provide an atmosphere where patient autonomy can be practiced.

Cross‐cultural validation of the patient‐practitioner orientation scale among primary care professionals in Spain

“…The caring dimension obtained a higher score, indicating a greater preference for the socio‐affective side of PCC than for sharing information and power. This result, while corroborated by several studies, 29,31,32,44,45 could depend on the cultural background of professionals or their medical specialty 46,47 . In our sample, s haring subscale items that obtained more physician‐oriented responses were related to the patients’ need for information and searches for themselves.…”

An Evaluation of Burnout Among Foundation Doctors in Malta

“…It is possible that the effect of gender is compounded by the possible effects of cultural differences as studies have been conducted in different settings (Ishak et al, 2009). The nding in this study that males are more prone to work-related and client-related burnout than their female counterparts contrasts with the ndings of another study (Ahmad et al, 2018) who described that female trainees were more likely to suffer from burnout. Ripp et al (2010) found no signi cant differences in burnout between genders.…”

Empathy and Burnout in Medical Staff: Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Job Commitment

“…Our burnout rates were lower than French mental healthcare low level burnout (77.5%); higher than the French moderate level burnout (17.8%); and roughly the same as the French high level burnout (4.6%) [51] and consistent with the rates for Spanish physicians and nurses, where the low level burnout rate was 58.8%, the moderate level was 37.5% and the high level was 3.7% [21]. For medical staff in Heilongjiang, the moderate and high level burnout rate was 84.62% and signi cantly higher than Pakistani postgraduate trainees and house o cers' high level burnout rate of 29.8% [52,53] In uencing Factors Of Burnout…”