Burnout-hit surgical residents more likely to suffer distress: study

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Surgical residents suffering burnout are more likely to be at the risk of high anxiety, depression, substance abuse and thoughts of suicide, said a study of the U.S. University of California San Francisco (UCSF) released Thursday.

The latest study, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, found that 70 percent of the 566 surgical residents surveyed said they had or were experiencing burnout driven by emotional exhaustion and doubts about their effectiveness at work.

"Burnout among physicians affects mental health, performance and patient outcomes. Surgery residency is a high-risk time for burnout," said the study.

The research was conducted in September 2016 by a team led by Carter Lebares, an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Surgery.

"Trainees with burnout and high stress were at increased risk for depression, and suicidal ideation," the study found.

It said 69 percent of the respondents experienced high burnout composed of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, which can manifest as feeling detached from patients or becoming more cynical in general.

About 20 percent of the residents suffered moderate to severe depressive symptoms, approximately twice as high as in the general age-matched population, according to the study.

Suicidal thoughts were present in 11 percent of the residents, more than three times higher than in the general population, it said.

It also found that nearly half of the residents, about 49 percent, misused alcohol, more than five times the prevalence of misuse recorded among the general public, and 33 percent of them reported alcohol abuse or dependence, twice as prevalent as in practicing surgeons.

Female residents were not an exception, said the study, noting that 58 of them admitted to have experienced alcohol misuse and abuse.

However, the study found that emotional exhaustion, high stress and anxiety seemed to improve considerably some years after their peak level, which was recorded in the third year of surgical residency.