Physician burnout and the risk factors associated

Abstract

Introduction: The practice of medicine can be incredibly rewarding, meaningful, and fulfilling to a physician, however it can be demanding and stressful. This paper set out to answer two main questions 1) what is the definition of ‘burnout’? and 2) What are the risk factors associated with physician ‘burnout’? Methods: A literature review was conducted to address the research questions. The PersonEnvironment-Occupation (PEO) Model was employed to structure the review of the literature with the main causes of burnout being highlighted in each of the person, environment and occupation domains of the model. Multiple databases were used in the collection of literature. Main Findings: It was evident that the current definition of burnout in the literature no longer reflects the needs of physicians and the healthcare field thus a reconceptualised definition is warranted. The organizational factors associated with physician burnout were disruptive behaviours, organizational climate, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and physician engagement. The main personal factors associated with physician burnout were medical training, work-life balance, sex and gender, personality traits and self-care. Lastly, the main environmental factors associated with physician burnout were autonomy, cultural shifts in medicine, perceptions of medicine in society and advances in medical technology. After assessing the definition and risk factors, it became clear that the issue of physician burnout requires an intersectional approach to fully understand physician needs and challenges. Conclusions: This paper highlighted many recommendations and considerations to advance burnout research and to increase the health and well-being of physicians including employing an intersectional approach as a starting point for fully understanding and preventing physician burnout.