Burnout and Resilience among Emergency Physicians at Korean University Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate burnout and resilience among emergency physicians (EPs) at university teaching hospitals during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: In April to May 2021, a survey was administered to 331 and 309 emergency medicine specialists and residents, respectively, from 31 university teaching hospitals in Korea. Data on the respondents’ age, sex, designation, working area, experience with treating COVID-19 patients, and personal experience with COVID-19 were collected. Based on the participants’ characteristics, quality of life (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress), resilience, emotional content, and self-image were analyzed. Results: A total of 247 responses were analyzed. Compared to specialists, compassion satisfaction and resilience in residents were not good, burnout was severe, and emotional content and self-image were less positive. Experiences with treating COVID-19 patients did not cause any difference in quality of life, resilience, emotional content, and self-image among participant subgroups. Personal COVID-19 experiences were associated with poor compassion satisfaction, resilience, less positive emotional content and self-image, and severe burnout. Compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and resilience can definitively affect burnout. Conclusion: The quality of life and resilience of EPs in university teaching hospitals in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic have been low. Supportive measures to improve resilience can prevent burnout among emergency staff, particularly residents and EPs, with personal experiences related to COVID-19.