An analysis of burnout among surgery residents at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan: A prospective cohort study

Abstract Background The aim of the study was to determine the scores of exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement according to Maslach Burnout Inventory in surgical residents. Materials and Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Islamabad with a 6-month duration from June 1, 2023, to November 30, 2023 after approval from the Institutional review board, 95 surgical residents working in departments of surgery & allied of age less than 35 years (any gender) with duty of at least 60 hours per week were enrolled in study by using nonprobability convenience sampling technique. Residents were informed about the study procedure and consent for inclusion was taken from them. Data analysis was done through SPSS v.26. Results The mean age was 28.01 ± 2.22 years. Out of 95 surgery residents, 62 (65.3%) were male and 33 (34.7%) were female. In year of residency 32(33.7%) were from 1 st years, 12 (12.6%) were from 2 nd year, 27 (28.4%) were from 3 rd year, 18 (18.9%) were from 4 th year, and just 6 (6.3%) were from 5 th year. The mean total score (exhaustion) in surgery resident was 26.96 ± 12.10, total score (depersonalization) was 19.24 ± 11.66 and total score (Personal achievement) was 31.71 ± 11.58. According to Maslach Burnout Inventory, a high level of burnout was found in 51.6% surgery residents in exhaustion section, 66.3% was in depersonalization section and 44.2% was in personal achievement section. Overall a high level of burnout was 54.03% in surgery residents of current study. Conclusions We experienced extreme levels of burnout among surgical residents in different specialties at our hospital, which not only calls for action but also awareness among surgeons and needs to plan such a program, which after implementation would reduce the burnout among surgical residents.