BIOS 500 LAB DAT ANALYSIS PROJECT: Burnout in ENT Residents

BIOS 500 LAB DAT ANALYSIS PROJECT: Burnout in ENT Residents

Source:This dataset comes from a larger study looking at burnout in medical residents in otolaryngology.

Background:Resident work schedule and burnout has gained much attention lately, particularly with the recent scrutiny of excessive resident work hours. Over the past decade numerous reports of resident burnout have appeared in the medical literature. Yet to date, no national-scale study has been conducted in residents of any medical specialty, partially because of the large sample size necessary for a meaningful cross-section. Residency is a critical period of medical training and professional development. It is a time that will determine subspecialization and choice of an academic or private practice career. Because of the simultaneous importance and stress of residency, a thorough investigation of burnout during this critical point is time is not only warranted, but also greatly in demand.

Burnoutis defined as a high degree of emotional exhaustion, a high degree of depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. [Maslach 1996] Emotional exhaustion is the feeling of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one’s work. Depersonalization is the adoption of a callous or dehumanized perception of others. Often emotional exhaustion and the depletion of emotional resources can lead to depersonalization. Low personal accomplishment is the feeling of dissatisfaction with one’s work-related achievements. Burnout is a critical side effect of work that may lead to poor quality of patient care, decreased productivity, and personal dysfunction. In addition, burnout can result in amotivational behaviors and low job involvement, which may negatively impact resident education.

Primary outcome measures:Burnout can be quantitatively measured by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), which has become the gold standard for inquires into physician burnout. There are three composite scores, one for each component of burnout.

The list of variables and their coding schemes can be found on the next page.

variable name--coding scheme

D2 – Age (in years)

D8 – Number of on-call days in an average month

D9 – Number of nights/weekends worked in an average month

D10 – Number of hours of sleep in an average night

D11 – Number of hours worked in an average week

PGY – Post-Graduate year

SEX – Respondent’s gender (0=Female, 1=Male)

MBI_EE – Composite score for emotional exhaustion

MBI_DP – Composite score for depersonalization

MBI_PA – Composite score for personal accomplishment

PS28A to PS28M – professional stressors (likert scale: 1=Not at all, 2=Slight amount, 3=Moderate amount, 4=Large amount, 5=Extreme amount)