Burnout and patient care in junior doctors in Mexico City
In Mexican junior doctors in three hospitals burnout was most strongly associated with shifts >12 h and with both current and previous depression. Reported suboptimal patient care was also associated with working shifts of ≥12 h.
Rodrigo Toral-Villanueva, Guadalupe Aguilar-Madrid and Cuauhtémoc Arturo Juárez-Pérez, Occupational Medicine 2009 59(1):8-13
The same conclusion can be drawn from another study by Fahrenkopf et al. in BMJ 2008;336:488-491
Rates of medication errors among depressed and burnt out residents: prospective cohort study (free online)
They concluded that depression and burnout are major problems among residents in paediatrics. Depressed residents made significantly more medical errors than their non-depressed peers; however, burnout did not seem to correlate with an increased rate of medical errors.
Burnout and patient care in junior doctors in Mexico City
Background: Burnout is known to occur in public service workers leading to a reduction in effectiveness at work. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of burnout in junior doctors and its impact on patient care.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of junior doctors at three hospitals in Mexico City was conducted. Measures used included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), measuring depersonalization (DP), emotional exhaustion (EE) and personal achievement (PA), a questionnaire about patient care practices and attitudes and one on sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between burnout and suspected risk factors.
Results: A total of 312 junior doctors participated (response rate 65%). In total, 57% were male and the average age was 28. Average scores in MBI subscales were EE: 18.2, DP: 6.9 and PA: 37.6. Burnout prevalence was 40% (126). Junior doctors with burnout were more likely to report suboptimal patient care practices occurring monthly (OR 5.5; 95% CI 2.7-11.2) and weekly (OR 5.2; 95% CI 1.6-16.3). The logistic regression model for burnout included shifts lasting >12 h, current depression, former major depression, first- or second-year junior doctors, male gender and single status.
Conclusions: Burnout was most strongly associated with shifts >12 h and with both current and previous depression. Reported suboptimal patient care was also associated with working shifts of ≥12 h. Burnout may be adversely affecting junior doctors’ health and their patients’ care.
Rates of medication errors among depressed and burnt out residents: prospective cohort study
Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression and burnout among residents in paediatrics and to establish if a relation exists between these disorders and medication errors.
Design: Prospective cohort study.
Setting: Three urban freestanding children’s hospitals in the United States.
Participants: 123 residents in three paediatric residency programmes.
Main outcome measures: Prevalence of depression using the Harvard national depression screening day scale, burnout using the Maslach burnout inventory, and rate of medication errors per resident month.
Results: 24 (20%) of the participating residents met the criteria for depression and 92 (74%) met the criteria for burnout. Active surveillance yielded 45 errors made by participants. Depressed residents made 6.2 times as many medication errors per resident month as residents who were not depressed: 1.55 (95% confidence interval 0.57 to 4.22) compared with 0.25 (0.14 to 0.46, P<0.001). Burnt out residents and non-burnt out residents made similar rates of errors per resident month: 0.45 (0.20 to 0.98) compared with 0.53 (0.21 to 1.33, P=0.2).
Conclusions: Depression and burnout are major problems among residents in paediatrics. Depressed residents made significantly more medical errors than their non-depressed peers; however, burnout did not seem to correlate with an increased rate of medical errors.
