Relationship between burnout and career choice regret among Chinese neurology postgraduates

Abstract

Background In China, the shortage of doctors leads to stressful clinical work and increasing turnover. Medical students undergoing postgraduate specialty training will be the country’s medical workforce in the coming decades, but are also subject to high workloads and academic pressure. This may have significant implications for burnout and career choice regret. Despite the importance of burnout and career choice regret, the status and relationship of these aspects in Chinese neurology postgraduates are largely unexplored, and associated factors remain unknown. Methods This study investigated the prevalence of and factors influencing burnout and career choice regret among neurology postgraduates in China. We conducted a national cross-sectional study of Chinese neurology postgraduates. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that covered demographic information, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and additional item to assess career choice regret. Results Of 4902 neurology postgraduates, 2008 returned completed questionnaires (response rate 41%). After excluding incomplete questionnaires, data for 1814 participants were analyzed. In total, 83.6% of participants had experienced symptoms of burnout, and 46.6% reported career choice regret. Binary logistic regression analysis showed postgraduate entrance examination scores, marital status, and having children were associated with burnout (all P < 0.05). Career choice regret was the strongest risk factor for burnout (odds ratio [OR] = 3.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.33–4.32). Multiple logistic regression showed postgraduates with shorter work or study hours per week (OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.47–0.88) had a low risk for career choice regret, whereas married participants (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.07–2.20) had a high risk for career choice regret. No symptoms of burnout (OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.24–0.45) was also associated with a low risk for career choice regret. Conclusions Burnout symptoms and career choice regret are prevalent among neurology postgraduates in China. Career choice regret is an important predictor of burnout. Further research on reducing burnout and career choice regret among neurology postgraduates is needed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1601-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Overlap of burnout-depression symptoms among Chinese neurology graduate students in a national cross-sectional study

“…Using a cross-sectional study design, a national self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 1814 neurology postgraduates in China from September 2014 to March 2015 [ 19 , 20 , 27 ]. Participants were recruited from 249 hospitals in 27 provinces across the country [ 19 , 20 ]. Survey responses were voluntary and anonymous.…”

“…Demographic data and three questions related to studying medicine were collected to measure factors associated with burnout and depressive symptoms. Demographic characteristics comprised gender, academic year, family monthly income, type of degree, postgraduate entrance examination score, hours worked or studied per week, hours slept per day, marital status, whether have children, and part-time work experience [ 19 ]. The three questions related to studying medicine were: “If you could go back, would you choose to become a doctor again?”; “What do you think of the current medical environment?”; and, “Have you ever considered dropping out of school?”…”

“…All variables with p ≤ 0.1 in the univariate analysis were included in the multinomial logistic regression model, and the significance level (alpha) of variable selection was set at 0.05 for both entry and exit in the logistic regression models. Multicollinearity analysis was used to test collinearity among variables when the tolerance was ≤0.1 or the variance inflation factor was ≥10 [ 19 ]. The significance level was set at 0.05.…”

“…Overall, the cited studies highlight that burnout and depressive symptoms are important issues affecting the mental health of medical students. Our previous studies have discussed the characteristics of burnout and depressive symptoms among Chinese neurology graduate students, respectively [ 19 , 20 ]. While these findings have improved our understanding of medical students’ mental health issues, more recent studies have begun to focus on the overlap between burnout and depressive symptoms, and have offered judgments that better reflect the social reality [ 7 , 21 ].…”

Health care reform in China from the perspective of physicians

“…There are many reasons for the slow-growing and aging physician population, such as extensive medical education and training (including undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education), mounting pressures at work, and a substantial decline in income. According to surveys in 2019, 46.6% of Chinese neurology postgraduates regretted their career choice (13) The patient preference for large hospitals places a substantial burden on physicians in those hospitals. Physicians worked an average of 10 hours a day and slept 6 hours on average.…”