Oct 10, 2022 12:00:00

The probability of medical accidents doubles when doctors have burnout syndrome

Burnout syndrome , in which people who are immersed in specific things lose their motivation at once due to mental and physical fatigue, is a serious problem for people working in various industries. A new study of about 240,000 doctors worldwide showed that 'doctors with burnout syndrome are twice as likely to cause medical accidents.'

Associations of physician burnout with career engagement and quality of patient care: systematic review and meta-analysis | The BMJ
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-070442

Clinicians suffering burnout are twice as likely to be involved in patient safety incidents
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-clinicians-burnout-involved-patient-safety.html

Burnout in doctors doubles chances of patient safety problems, study finds | Doctors |
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/14/burnout-in-doctors-doubles-chances-of-patient-safety-problems-study-finds

Previous studies have found that burnout is common among physicians, with one-third of UK residents experiencing high levels of burnout and two-fifths of US residents experiencing at least one It is reported that he has symptoms of burnout syndrome. High rates of physician burnout have also been reported in low- and middle-income countries.

However, due to the paucity of studies on burnout and physician performance, British and Greek research teams analyzed 170 studies involving a total of 239,246 physicians. The studies included in the survey included those conducted in countries in Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States and United Kingdom, and included data on burnout, physician career engagement, and quality of patient care. He said.

The analysis found that burnt-out physicians were up to four times more likely to be dissatisfied with their work than non-burned-out physicians. They were also more than three times more likely to be considering leaving or regretting their career choices. The highest association between burnout and medical accidents was among young doctors aged 20-30 and those working in emergency medicine.

Seriously, burnout physicians were twice as likely to be involved in a medical accident and twice as likely to have low professionalism. In addition, patients were more than twice as likely to receive low satisfaction ratings.

The association between burnout and poor job satisfaction was also reported to be particularly high among physicians with poor hospital conditions, those aged 31–50 years, and those working in emergency or intensive care. increase. General practitioners, on the other hand, had the lowest rates of burnout.

The research team acknowledges that the studies reviewed here may have inconsistent definitions of job satisfaction and other measures, leading to incomplete results. Nonetheless, “burnout is a strong predictor of physician career exit and patient care. Going forward, investment strategies to monitor and improve physician burnout will help to maintain workforce numbers and improve patient care quality.” It will be necessary as a means to improve the

Latifa Patel, president of the British Medical Association , said of the study's findings: 'The report comes as no surprise to doctors and medical students. Burnout is not just about personal well-being and careers, it is about patient safety. It's also a problem,' he commented. He argues that it is important to secure and maintain the number of doctors because burnout doctors cannot maximize their abilities and adversely affect patient care.

Professor Matthias Weigl of the University of Bonn, Germany, added: 'The epidemic of burnout among physicians points to a flawed work system caused by deep-seated social problems and structural problems across the healthcare sector. Urgent action, including evidence-based, systems-oriented interventions to design work environments that encourage staff engagement and prevent burnout, is essential for patient and health system safety.'