Psychostimulant Subtances Use Among Resident Doctors

Abstract

The use of psychostimulants is more and more common lately, especially in the medical guild. The term “burn-out” is an occupational phenomenon, not a disease, and 25-60% of doctors in different specialties have the burn-out syndrome. The method was to complete a questionnaire-type test by 204 medical residents. The results shows us that 72.1% (147) of the respondents drinks coffee, 25.9% of them smokes cigarettes during hospital hours and 13.7% consumes energy drinks. Furthemore 5.9% drinks alcohol during shifts. Among of all, those who are consumers of at least one psychostimulant substance, the risk of them having at least one of the symptoms of burnout is 1.3 times higher than those who do not consume anything at work (RR-1.3453, p = 0.0152). Psychostimulant substances are consumed to improve the efficiency and resistance at work. It’s important to manage the time in order to avoid extreme fatigue and distress.