Prevalence of burnout syndrome among family medicine residents

Abstract

A survey in the form of a questionnaire assessed the prevalence of the burnout syndrome among family medicine residents in the Republic of Srpska. The survey considered gender, marital status, and number of children in the family of participants. This study was based upon results of a survey questionnaire that was distributed to family medicine residents in the Educational Centers of Family Medicine, Banja Luka and Doboj, during the period from February 1 to April 30, 2010. Participants answered the self-assessment questionnaire regarding stress level and also the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire that provided data regarding age, sex, marital status and the number of children in family. The respondents included 57 physicians, 20 male and 37 female, all of whom were residents in family practice. More than three fourths (77.2 %) of the respondents had a high level of stress. Furthermore, the residents had moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Female residents reported only moderate levels of personal accomplishment, while male physicians had lower levels. There was no statistically significant difference between data from the male and female groups. The results of the survey failed to establish any correlation between gender, marital status, including the number of children per family, and the prevalence of the burnout syndrome.

Keywords

• burnout syndrome
• residents
• marital status
• number of children per family