UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Burnout Among Surgeons in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study

Houdmont, Jonathan; Daliya, Prita; Theophilidou, Elena; Adiamah, Alfred; Hassard, Juliet; Lobo, Dileep N; Ahmed, Jamil; ... Young, Lora; + view all (2022) Burnout Among Surgeons in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study. World Journal of Surgery , 46 pp. 1-9. 10.1007/s00268-021-06351-6. Green open access

[thumbnail of 2022 000 PR Burnout among surgeons UK s00268-021-06351-6.pdf]
Preview
PDF
2022 000 PR Burnout among surgeons UK s00268-021-06351-6.pdf - Other

Download (265kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: Surgeon burnout has implications for patient safety and workforce sustainability. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of burnout among surgeons in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey was set in the UK National Health Service and involved 601 surgeons across the UK of all specialities and grades. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a bespoke questionnaire. Outcome measures included emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment, as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Results: A total of 142 surgeons reported having contracted COVID-19. Burnout prevalence was particularly high in the emotional exhaustion (57%) and depersonalisation (50%) domains, while lower on the low personal accomplishment domain (15%). Burnout prevalence was unrelated to COVID-19 status; however, the greater the perceived impact of COVID-19 on work, the higher the prevalence of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Degree of worry about contracting COVID-19 oneself and degree of worry about family and friends contacting COVID-19 was positively associated with prevalence on all three burnout domains. Across all three domains, burnout prevalence was exceptionally high in the Core Trainee 1–2 and Specialty Trainee 1–2 grades. Conclusions: These findings highlight potential undesirable implications for patient safety arising from surgeon burnout. Moreover, there is a need for ongoing monitoring in addition to an enhanced focus on mental health self-care in surgeon training and the provision of accessible and confidential support for practising surgeons.

Type: Article
Title: Burnout Among Surgeons in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cohort Study
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s00268-021-06351-6
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-021-06351-6
Language: English
Additional information: ©The Author(s) 2021. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10156958
Downloads since deposit
28Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item