title: Professional Burnout Among Plastic Surgery Residents: Can it be Prevented? Outcomes of a National Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Plastic surgery residencies require significant investments of time and psychological resources. We herein determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome among plastic surgery residents and identify potentially protective factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national cross-sectional study was conducted among French plastic surgery residents in March 2013. We distributed a validated measure of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) in addition to a general questionnaire collecting sociodemographic and professional information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-two residents (61%) responded; their mean age was 29 years. A total of 25% and 13.5% of residents scored highly on the depersonalization and high-level emotional exhaustion burnout subscales, respectively, and 48.1% indicated perceived low-level personal accomplishment. The occurrence of a weekly ward round by a senior surgeon (reported by 67.3% of respondents) appears to protect against burnout (P = 0.007); regular staff meetings in the unit (75% of respondents) were also protective because they limited depersonalization (P = 0.048) and promoted personal accomplishment (P = 0.031). The number of hours worked/week was not significantly associated with burnout. Despite these data, 69.2% reported satisfaction with their careers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Almost one third of plastic surgery residents exhibited a high degree of burnout; the risks were increased by being in the early years of training, feeling dissatisfied with career plans, and working in units in which senior surgeons did not make weekly ward rounds and in which regular staff meetings, which offer the opportunity to discuss cases or problems with other professionals, were not scheduled. Burnout increases the risk of medical errors and suicide among residents. Therefore, we suggest that screening for burnout is essential.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, Aesthetic and Burns Surgery, University Hospital Toulouse Rangueil, Toulouse; †Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Hospital Sud. SITI Laboratory and INSERM U917, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, STROMAlab, UMR5273 CNRS/UPS/EFS-INSERM U1031, Rangueil Hospital, Toulouse; ‡Gastroenterology Department, University Hospital of Limoges, Limoges; §Department of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery, Lapeyronie Burn and Wound Healing Center, Montpellier; and ∥Agence Régionale d'Hospitalisation Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chaput
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bertheuil
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smilevitch
authors.forename: Farid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bekara
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Soler
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herlin
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Grolleau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013518:Surgery, Plastic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires