Depersonalization and depression, symptoms of physician burnout are most common among orthopedic surgery residents on their orthopedic trauma rotation, according to a new study.
Despite this though, quality of life tends to improve as they continue through their residence training, the researchers said.
In the study, “Factors Associated With Orthopaedic Resident Burnout: A Pilot Study,” which was published in the October 2020 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, researchers investigated whether certain residency factors had any impact on burnout among orthopedic surgery residents.
They enrolled orthopedic residents at a single institution as they began a new clinical rotation and then followed the residents for four weeks.
The study participants were asked to wear a Fitbit Flex to track their physical activity. Burnout levels were collected using REDCap. Levels were assessed once at enrollment and then weekly during the study period.
A total of 27 residents were included in the study: 13 junior residents and 14 senior residents. Seven of the residents were on fracture rotations; 20 were not.
Based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the junior residents were more emotionally exhausted (p = 0.01) and depersonalized (p = 0.02). There were no differences observed in physical activity or self-reported hours of sleep.
Residents on orthopedic trauma rotations also reported higher rates of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.001) than other residents but were also more physically active (p < 0.030).
The researchers wrote, “Although depersonalization and depression are common symptoms seen among orthopedic surgery residents, this study demonstrated that quality of life improves markedly as they progress through their residency training. Residents on orthopedic trauma rotations have greater levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.”
They added, “This pilot study suggests that burnout prevention programs should begin at the start of training to provide residents with strategies to combat and then reinforced while on orthopedic trauma rotations.”
