Frequency of burnout syndrome in a group of specialists in Plastic Surgery and postgraduate students in Colombia

Abstract

Background and objective. The burnout was originally described by Freudenberger, an American psychoanalyst psychiatrist in 1974, and this term was used for the first time by Cristina Maslach in 1976 to refer to an increasingly frequent situation among workers of human services, who by the nature of their work, had to maintain direct and continuous contact with people, wasting out professionally after months or years of dedication. In the 1980s, Maslach created an instrument for its assessment, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), with 3 versions, one aimed at people who work in the human services sector (Human Services Survey). It values 3 dimensions: Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment at work, is still in use and is considered the most accurate instrument for diagnosing the disease. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and associated factors of burnout syndrome in a group of plastic surgeons and postgraduate students in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery in Colombia. Methods. Cross-sectional study carried out during the XX International Course of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery of the Colombian Society of Aesthetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery (SCCP) carried out in September 2018 in Barranquilla. Informed consent was requested and the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used to evaluate the factors associated with the syndrome. Burnout syndrome was defined as the association of high emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low personal accomplishment. The multivariate analysis was performed after fitting the binary logistic model with the identification of risk factors and the calculation of the (OR). Of the 623 physicians registered in the course, 132 participated in the study. Results. Two of the 98 specialists evaluated meet the criteria for burnout syndrome. Two specialists were excluded for having previously diagnosed major depression. None of the residents evaluated met all the criteria for this entity. However, different percentages of respondents who could be at risk were identified, as well as different factors in people with the best scores that could play a fundamental role in their prevention. Conclusions. The burnout syndrome requires more attention in terms of public health. Studies like ours allow to expose psychosocial factors to identify not only risk factors but those playing a protective role for the development of this entity, to create prevention strategies and to reduce the incidence of this pathology.