BURNOUT SYNDROME IN ROMANIAN PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION PHYSICIANS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The objective of this article is to assess the level of burnout in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physicians from Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study included 71 Rehabilitation physicians working in/outside a COVID-19 hospital that completed an online survey in 2020 to assess the level of burnout. The results were compared to those obtained in a group of 73 physicians that took the same survey in 2009. In the study group, 36.6% had high levels of emotional exhaustion, 15.5% presented high levels of depersonalisation and 15.5% had high levels of personal accomplishment. Compared to controls, fewer scored high in the emotional exhaustion section (p < 0.001). Those who work in COVID-19 units had higher emotional exhaustion scores (p = 0.029). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation levels are lower compared to 10 years ago, but those working with COVID-19 patients have higher levels of emotional exhaustion.