Correlates of burnout among family practice residents.

Burnout among 67 residents in four family practice training programs was explored. The residents' scores on the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of accomplishment subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to assess burnout. These scores were examined in relation to situational and background measures, two personality instruments (the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), and to regrets about career decisions. Few significant relationships were found between the background and situational factors and the burnout scores, but numerous relationships were found among personality measures, burnout scores, and measures of regret. The pattern of these relationships indicates the importance of interpersonal comfort and skills in mitigating burnout. Although personality factors were more predictive than demographic and situational variables of the variability in burnout among residents in the sample, the variables shared across the sample--long hours, little time for leisure activities and social contact, and compulsive personality characteristics--may contribute to the moderate level of burnout shared by these residents.

Resident physicians in family practice: who's burned out and who knows?

Sixty-seven family practice residents and 18 faculty members completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and listed three factors they believed most responsible for resident burnout. In addition, faculty rated residents and residents rated themselves on overall burnout. Mean resident scores on the Maslach ranged from moderate to high, while global self-ratings indicated moderate burnout. Patterns did not vary across programs surveyed, postgraduate year, or gender. Faculty did not appear to be modeling burnout, since they scored in the low to moderate ranges on all Maslach subscales. Residents and faculty overwhelmingly cited time demands as the factor most responsible for resident burnout. Residency directors were more accurate than psychologist faculty in identifying which residents saw themselves as most burned out. Directors significantly underestimated the absolute level of burnout, but psychologists did not. Combined assessments of both faculty groups resulted in significantly better identification than either alone. The prevalence and patterns of burnout and difficulties in identifying affected residents are discussed in terms of the demands of residency training programs and the investment of residents and faculty in current models of medical education.

Validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for family practice physicians.

This study assesses the utility of Maslach's concept of burnout for family practice physicians. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) subscale correlations for the 67 residents in this sample are compared with Maslach's normative sample. The residents scored in the moderate to high range on the MBI subscales. MBI interscale correlations were similar to the pattern reported by Maslach. Significant correlations between job satisfaction and five of the six MBI subscales suggest that the construct of burnout has considerable psychological import for these physicians. The validity of the emotional exhaustion subscale is demonstrated by significant correlations with self-assessed burnout, job satisfaction, and faculty assessments of resident burnout. Independent observers were most sensitive to residents' emotional exhaustion and less likely to assess accurately the less visible aspects of burnout related to depersonalization and lack of achievement, which suggests the usefulness of multiple measures for assessing the burnout phenomenon.