Abstract
Background and Objectives To investigate the prevalence of burnout profiles and their contributing factors in European neurology residents, junior neurologists, and research fellows.
Methods The members of the Resident and Research Fellow Section (RRFS) of the European Academy of Neurology were surveyed using standardized instruments for burnout, job satisfaction, social support, depression, work-related fatigue, work-life integration, and impact of life events, from September 1, 2020, to January 6, 2021.
Results The response rate was 23.1% (332 responders of 1,439 contacted RRFS members); the median age of participants 30 years, with 61.5% being female. Our analysis revealed that 73.9% of the responders showed a perturbation in the Maslach Burnout Inventory dimensions, thus fulfilling the criteria for a dysfunctional phenotype within the burnout spectrum: burnout (22.6%), overextended (26.1%), ineffective (21.0%), and disengaged (4.1%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that elevated number of night shifts per month, work-related fatigue, and low professional satisfaction are independent risk factors for burnout. Being a certified neurologist, working in an academic environment, and a higher job satisfaction are associated with the engaged profile, a productive state characterized by high energy, strong involvement, and a sense of efficacy.
Discussion Burnout experience is highly prevalent among neurology residents, junior neurologists, and research fellows in Europe. The profile-based approach in this survey captures the multifaceted nature of burnout experience, therefore highlighting mitigating strategies that can be tailored to the distinct dysfunctional burnout profile.
Glossary
- 3D-WFI=
- Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory;
- COVID-19=
- coronavirus disease 2019;
- EAN=
- European Academy of Neurology;
- JSS=
- Job Satisfaction Survey;
- LCI=
- Life Change Index Scale;
- MBI=
- Maslach Burnout Inventory;
- MBI-HSS=
- MBI-Human Services Survey;
- MSPSS=
- Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support;
- PHQ-9=
- Patient Health Questionnaire-9;
- RRFS=
- Resident and Research Fellow Section;
- WSAS=
- Work and Social Adjustment Scale
Footnotes
↵* These authors contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
Go to Neurology.org/NE for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
Submitted and externally peer reviewed. The handling editor was Roy Strowd III, MD, MEd, MS.
- Received June 2, 2022.
- Accepted in final form October 26, 2022.
- © 2022 American Academy of Neurology
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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