MP20-17 INFLUENCE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE BURNOUT RATES OF GRADUATING CANADIAN UROLOGY RESIDENTS

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Burnout is a work-related psychologic syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion decreased sense of personal accomplishment, and depersonalization.1 Burnout among surgeons is increasing with prevalence rates exceeding 50%.2COVID-19 has affected the medical system with evidence of increased stress and levels of depression in our medical trainees. This study aims to assess the influence COVID-19 is having on burnout rates in Canadian Urology trainees. METHODS: Thirty-seven chief residents among the Canadian Urology residency programs attended the Queen's Urology Exam Skills Test (QUEST) on December, 2019 pre-pandemic and thirty-nine chief residents attended virtually on November, 2020 during the pandemic. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire was administered anonymously. The MBI covers emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment.4 Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: There was 100% response rate in the convenience sample (n=37) in 2019 and 64.1% response rate (n=25) in 2020. 70% of chief residents in Canadian Urology programs showed evidence of burnout in 2019 compared to 88% in 2020. There was a statistically significant difference between the two cohorts in emotional exhaustion (45.9% in 2019 and 68% in 2020, p=0.005) and depersonalization scores (62.2% in 2019 and 80% in 2020, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to examine the impact of the pandemic on burnout rates in urology trainees. Burnout rates are high in trainees at baseline, and the pandemic appears to have exacerbated this problem. Vigilance and proactive steps need to be implemented to alleviate this crisis.