MENTAL HEALTH AND PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT AMONG RESIDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SITUATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study of the level and factors of mental maladjustment and professional burnout of medical residents undergoing training at the Training Center of N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 110 first and second year residents (30 men and 80 women; mean age — 25.1±2.32), both working in the COVID-19 “red zone” and helping other patients. The following methods were used to assess symptoms and factors of mental maladjustment and professional burnout: Beck Depression and Anxiety Scales (Beck et al., 1988; 1996), Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), PTSD Checklist for DSM 5 (PSL-5; Weathers et al., 2013) Distress Thermometer (Holland, Bultz, 2007), UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1978) Three-Factor Perfectionism Inventory (Garanyan et al., 2018) and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Taylor et al., 2003). According to the data, 43% of young doctors noted symptoms of depression of moderate and high severity, suicidal thoughts were present in 10%, symptoms of heightened anxiety in 30%, and more than a half (55%) had critically high rates of symptoms of post-traumatic stress. About a quarter of the respondents showed high rates of general distress (24%) and professional burnout in all three of its aspects (emotional exhaustion — 21%, depersonalization — 23%, and personal accomplishment — 22%). Most residents associated distress with difficulties in combining work and study and fear for the quality of education during the pandemic. Social support was noted as a factor in coping with stress. A series of regression analyzes showed the importance of the contribution of the experience of loneliness, as well as high rates of perfectionism and alexithymia, to mental distress and professional burnout of residents.

Keywords

• depression
• post-traumatic stress symptoms
• professional burnout
• young doctors-residents
• covid-19
• distress and its factors
• alexithymia
• loneliness
• perfectionism