Burnout phenomenon in Saudi dermatology residents: a national assessment of prevalence and contributing factors

Abstract

Background: Burnout is a multidimensional syndrome declared recently as an occupational phenomenon in the International Classification of Diseases, recognizing burnout as a serious public health issue of national proportions. Objective: To determine burnout prevalence in Saudi dermatology residency and identify contributing factors. Methods: Validated measure of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory-human services survey), alongside the possible risk factors of burnout, was distributed to all dermatology board training programs in all centers with Saudi Board Dermatology Training Program in the Western, Eastern, and Southern Region in Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 70 respondents completed the questionnaire. High Emotional Exhaustion (EE) was present in (47.1%) , low personal accomplishment (PA) was present in (65.7%) , and high depersonalization (DP) was the least prevalent across all burnout dimensions (24.3%) of dermatology residents. Overall burnout was present in (21.4%) of the dermatology residents. Multivariate analysis showed that the odds of EE were significantly lower in males than females (OR = 0.2, P = 0.016) and the higher number of patients seen per clinic (OR = 1.09, P = 0.032) was associated with higher odds of having high risk of EE while higher satisfaction with work life balance was associated with lower odds of high risk of EE (OR = 0.47, P = 0.005). Higher number of study hours/week was associated with lower odds of low PA (OR = 0.95, P = 0.02). Similarly, higher satisfaction with career was associated with lower odds of low PA (OR = 0.35, P = 0.042). Multivariate analysis showed that only exercise (OR = 0.21, P = 0.05) and satisfaction with work/life balance (OR = 0.42, P = 0.008) were associated with lower risk of burnout. Conclusion: Our study adds to the literature the burnout rates in dermatology residents in Saudi Arabia, in addition to possible risk factors that can predict burnout. These findings can be applied in the improvement of training programs to reduce the burnout rate among residents.