2017 HSC Section 2 - Practice Management

Original Research—General Otolaryngology

Factors Correlating with Burnout in

Practicing Otolaryngologists

Otolaryngology–

Head and Neck Surgery

146(2) 234–239

American Academy of

Otolaryngology—Head and Neck

Surgery Foundation 2012

Reprints and permission:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/0194599811428585

http://otojournal.org

Aaron M. Fletcher, MD

, Nitin Pagedar, MD

, and

Richard J. H. Smith, MD

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are dis-

closed at the end of this article.

Abstract

Objective.

This study sought to determine which demo-

graphic and practice characteristics were predictive of pro-

fessional burnout in otolaryngologists.

Study Design.

Cross-sectional survey.

Setting.

Tertiary care hospital.

Subjects and Methods.

Postal mailings, including the Maslach

Burnout Inventory (MBI), were sent to alumni of the

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics otolaryngology pro-

gram. Participants completed the MBI according to the

enclosed instructions. In addition, they answered a brief

questionnaire comprising 8 items designed to collect demo-

graphic information. The MBI was then scored and subjects

were classified according to their degree of burnout.

Statistical analysis was then performed, and correlations

were used to summarize associations between continuous

variables.

Results.

This study had a response rate of 49% to the

survey. Of the respondents, 3.5% met criteria for burnout

syndrome, and 16% were classified as having high levels of

burnout according to the MBI. Young age, number of hours

worked per week, and length of time in practice were

found to be statistically significant predictors of burnout. In

addition, the length of time married and the presence of

children in the home were also significant predictors of

burnout.

Conclusion.

The authors report an investigation of burnout in

practicing otolaryngologists using a validated instrument

with correlation to potentially modifiable risk factors. The

experience of burnout was found to correlate significantly

with both personal and professional factors, each of which

can potentially be addressed to curb the incidence of burn-

out. Further understanding of the potential risk factors for

burnout is necessary to minimize and prevent burnout

among practicing otolaryngologists.

Keywords

burnout, burnout syndrome, practicing otolaryngologist

Received August 27, 2011; revised October 10, 2011; accepted

October 12, 2011.

he syndrome of physician burnout is a serious problem

in modern health care. Because of its many potential

impacts on the health care landscape, burnout has

become one of the most commonly analyzed manifestations of

stress in physicians. Recent studies have attempted to quantify

and characterize burnout in many medical and surgical subspe-

cialties.

1-4

In the field of otolaryngology–head and neck sur-

gery, several studies have begun to examine the myriad

contributory factors that lead to burnout in residents,

5,6

aca-

demic faculty,

academic chairpersons,

and subspecialists.

These studies have started to demonstrate the critical role that

personal and professional-related stressors play in the develop-

ment of burnout. Many of these stressors are potentially modi-

fiable. As such, attempts to understand how these stressors

correlate with burnout are of paramount importance to reduc-

ing the incidence of this phenomenon. Herein we report the

results of a study that attempts to quantify demographic and

practice characteristics that correlate with burnout in practicing

otolaryngologists.

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by a high degree of

emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) and a

low degree of personal accomplishment (PA).

The most

commonly used and rigorously validated instrument for mea-

suring burnout is the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human

Services Study (MBI-HSS). The MBI-HSS measures each of

these 3 aspects of burnout on a subscale related to the fre-

quency of their occurrence. The EE subscale measures feel-

ings that result from being emotionally overextended or

exhausted by one’s work; the DP subscale measures cynicism

and callous responses toward recipients of one’s service,

care, treatment, or instruction; and the PA subscale assesses

feelings of satisfaction with one’s job-related achievements.

Numeric scores are generated; however, there is no particular

Department of Otolaryngology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics,

Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Corresponding Author:

Richard J. H. Smith, MD, Department of Otolaryngology, UI Hospitals and

Clinics, 200 Hawkins Dr, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA

Email:

richard-smith@uiowa.edu

Reprinted by permission of Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012; 146(2):234-239.