Burnout in U.S. Military Orthopaedic Residents and Staff Physicians

ABSTRACTObjective: The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of burnout among military orthopaedic residents and staff surgeons at the U.S. Army Medical Center. Methods: 37 residents and 21 staff surgeons of a military orthopaedic residency program were asked to voluntarily complete an anonymous electronic survey. The survey consisted of two parts: first, a demographic section including questions about relationship status, work hours, deployment history, medical education debt, mentorship, and job satisfaction and second, the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results: 27 residents and 11 staff completed the survey for a 67% response rate. The rate of burnout among military orthopaedic surgeons in our study was 7.7% (3.7% of residents and 16.7% of staff surgeons). In addition, 25.6% of surgeons (33% of residents and 8.3% of staff) were found to be at risk of burnout. Conclusions: Future studies should focus on causal relationships among specific aspects of the work environment and possible preventiv...