The predictors of depression and burnout among surgical residents: A cross-sectional study from Kuwait

Abstract

Background Surgical residency often poses a challenge to residents, with long working hours and a stressful work environment. Surgical residents are at an increased risk of burnout and depression. Such mental health burdens could go so far as to affect treatment outcomes. Aim To assess the prevalence and risk factors for depression and burnout among residents across surgical specialties in Kuwait. Materials and methods An online questionnaire was sent to the residents enrolled to the surgical residency programs in Kuwait, from the period of January 2020–February 2020. Variables collected included; age, gender, marital status, smoking history, exercise, specialty, year of training, on-call frequency, assessment of burnout (using the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI)) and assessment of depressive symptoms (using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score). Results A total of 85 surgical residents between the age of 20 and 40 years responded. Most (64.7%) were male and 35.3% female. More than half were married (51.8%) and 41.2% were single. The majority of the residents were in general surgery (43.5%), with the least being in otolaryngology (7.1%) and neurosurgery (5.9%). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 55.3%, and 51.8% had a high overall burnout score. Conclusion Addressing burnout at all stages during residency training is paramount in improving standard of care as well as increasing the wellness of residents.

Burnout and Online Medical Education: Romanian Students in Lockdown and Their Residency Choices

“…While it remains unclear how students choose their specialty, as a Canadian study suggests [41], personal and professional factors may be the key to choosing a specialty, which leads to a more satisfying career and better care for their patients, as burnout correlates with lower levels of empathy, disengagement and career regret [42]. However, addressing burnout at all stages of medical training, either in medical school or residency is of critical importance for the quality of healthcare and the students' and residents' wellbeing [22,42,[52][53][54]. In terms of the presence of intentional shift in residency choice, one recent study [55] showed that in the USA, about one-fifth of surveyed medical students were preoccupied with changing their residency choice.…”

The Prevalence of Burnout and Its Associated Factors Among Surgical Specialists in Kuwait Ministry of Health Hospitals

“…The number of self-identified sources of stress were summed to produce a scale from 0 to 13. The median number of sources of stress in surgeons without any burnout was 5 [Interquartile Range 3-7], and in the burnout and severe burnout groups, it was 6 [3][4][5][6][7][8] and 7 [5-8.25], respectively (Kruskal-Wallis p-value = 0.002).…”

“…To our knowledge, with the exception of one study on burnout among surgical residents (7), the prevalence of burnout and its associated factors among practicing physicians and, more specifically, surgeons, has not previously been reported in Kuwait. This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated factors of burnout among surgeons in Kuwait.…”

“…Workplace burnout is defined as a state of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low sense of personal accomplishment (PA) from prolonged exposure to demanding work situations (1), and has been reported as highly prevalent among physicians around the world (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7). Burnout in this population can result in negative consequences both to the physician and the patient.…”

“…Several studies of burnout among physicians have been conducted in the Middle Eastern region (2,6,7,10,14). A recent review of seven studies in Arab countries assessed the prevalence of burnout among physicians reported ranges of burnout from 12.6% in Qatar up to 70% in Saudi Arabia (6).…”