Frequency of Burn-Out among Palliative Care Physicians Participating in a Continuing Medical Education Course

Abstract Palliative Care (PC) physicians are vulnerable for burnout given the nature of practice. The burnout frequency may be variable and reported between 24 to 38 % across different countries. Objective The main objective of our study was to determine the frequency of burnout among PC physicians participating in PC Continuing Medical Education (CME) course. Methods A survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) – General along with 41 custom questions were administered to determine the frequency of burnout among physicians attending the 2018 Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) Board Review Course. Results Of 110 physicians, 91 (83%) completed the survey. The median age was 48 years with 65% being females, 81% were married, 46% were in community practice, 38 % in practice for 6-15 years. PC was practiced ≥50 % of the time by 62%, and 76% were doing clinical work. 73 (80%) reported that PC is appreciated at their work, 58 (64%) reported insurance to be a burden, and 58 (64%) reported that the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) was a burden. 82 (90%) felt optimistic about continuing PC in future. MBI results suggest 35 (38 %) of participants reported at least one symptom of burnout. Only being single/separated showed trend towards significance with burnout (p=0.056). Conclusion Burnout among PC physicians who attended a board review course was 38%. Being single/separated showed trend towards association with burnout. Physicians who choose to attend CME may have unique motivating characteristics allowing them to better cope with stress and avoid burnout.