Burnout among Slovenian family medicine trainees: A cross-sectional study

Background: Burnout as a distinct work-related syndrome is established by the combination of high scores for emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalisation (D), and a low score for personal accomplishment (PA). The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of burnout among Slovenian family medicine trainees and the influence of the socio-demographic characteristics on burnout assessment. Methods: The study included 127 family medicine trainees in a modular part of the residency in the study year 2008/09. A self-administered questionnaire addressed the socio-demographic variables (age, gender, marital status, and years of practice and labour details - number of patients per day, number of night shifts per month); the second part consisted of the Slovenian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: The responses were received from 117 trainees (92 % response rate). In terms of burnout, 45.9 % respondents scored high for EE, 43.1 % for high D, and 45.9 % for low P, with 18.3 % scoring high burnout in all three dimensions, 27.5 % in two dimensions, 24.8 % in one dimension and only 29.4 % did not score high for burnout in any dimension at al. A high EE was significantly associated with frequent work in the emergency unit (four times per month) and age; a higher D was associated only with frequent work in the emergency unit (four times per month), whereas a low PA was not associated with any of the variables studied. Conclusions: The prevalence of burnout syndrome among family medicine trainees is high and consistent with data from other studies among the physicians worldwide using the same instrument. Family medicine trainees are at risk of burnout regardless of their demographic characteristics. Increased workload affects EE and D.