Assessing the prevalence of workplace telepressure on resident and attending physicians: A validated scale

Abstract

Background: Physician wellbeing and burnout are significant threats to the healthcare workforce. Mobile electronic medical record access and smartphones allow for efficient communication in healthcare but may lead to workplace telepressure (WPT). Methods: An IRB-approved survey related to five domains of burnout [WPT, smartphone usage, boundary control, and psychologic detachment] was circulated. Internal medicine and general surgery faculty and residents were surveyed between 3/2021 and 6/2021. Survey results were analyzed for internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha coefficient and validation against a known physician burnout scale. Results: The domains were internally valid with a Cronbach alpha of 0.888. Validation against the physician burnout scale was significantly correlated with WPT domains but was overall positively correlated across domains. Surgical trainees reported the highest burnout rate related to every domain. Conclusion: Survey-based WPT burnout scales provide insight into the daily pressures on physicians. Targeted interventions to limit WPT are needed to improve physician wellbeing.

Keywords

• Burnout
• Telepressure
• Surgical education
• Electronic medical record