Perspectives on Professional Burnout and Occupational Stress among Medical Oncologists: A Cross-sectional Survey by Korean Society for Medical Oncology (KSMO)

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of burnout and occupational stress among medical oncologists in Korea. Materials and Methods A survey was conducted of medical oncologists who were members of Korean Society for Medical Oncology (KSMO) using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale, the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and supplemental questions about work and lifestyle factors. Results Among 220 active KSMO members, 111 responses were collected. The median age was 42 years (range, 32 to 63 years). Two-thirds of responders worked 6 days per week and half of them worked a total of 60-80 hours per week. Each medical oncologist treated a median of 90-120 patients per week in outpatient clinics and 20-30 patients per week in patient practices. MBI subscales indicated a high level of emotional exhaustion in 74%, a high level of depersonalization in 86%, and a low level of personal accomplishment in 65%: 68% had professional burnout according to high emotional exhaustion and high depersonalization scores. The risk of burnout was higher for medical oncologists aged from 30-39 than 40-49 years, and unmarried than married. Considering personal accomplishment, females had a higher risk of burnout. The median score of occupational stress was 63 (range, 43 to 88). Having night-duty call was the strongest risk factor on more stress. A higher stress score was associated with a higher prevalence of burnout. Conclusion Burnout and occupational stress are quite common amongst Korean medical oncologists. Achieving a healthy work-life balance, ensuring balanced workload distribution, and engaging in proper stress relief solutions are necessary.

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“…The analysis of different healthcare systems showed broad variations regarding the prevalence of burnout among oncologists: Using different diagnostic criteria, even higher rates of burnout were reported in a survey among oncologists in the US (Allegra et al 2005) or Korea (Lee et al 2020), whereas a recent survey involving Italian oncologists has only shown a burnout rate of 10.5% (Cheli et al 2021).…”

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“…4 Considering the clinical practice setting where physicians are challenged by time constraints and high workloads, a better system or tool to facilitate the evaluation of AEs by physicians could decrease these physician-patient discrepancies. 6 Importantly, AEs during chemotherapy, if not managed appropriately, can often interfere with treatment continuation as planned, reduce patients' quality of life, and increase healthcare utilization and costs. 7 Since most chemotherapy-related AEs are predictable and preventable, if physicians correctly identify and assess AEs, they can be reduced during subsequent cycles through appropriate preemptive management.…”

“… 4 Considering the clinical practice setting where physicians are challenged by time constraints and high workloads, a better system or tool to facilitate the evaluation of AEs by physicians could decrease these physician–patient discrepancies. 6 …”

“…Interestingly, the discrepancies in AE reporting positively correlated with the number of patients enrolled at each site, suggesting that patient workload affects the discrepancy between physician and patient reporting of AEs 4 . Considering the clinical practice setting where physicians are challenged by time constraints and high workloads, a better system or tool to facilitate the evaluation of AEs by physicians could decrease these physician–patient discrepancies 6 …”

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