The following is the summary of “Fellows in Training Wellness in Allergy and Immunology: AAAAI Workgroup Report” published in the November 2022 issue of Allergy and Clinical Immunology by Sharma, et al.
Burnout is a serious threat to the health and well-being of doctors and can cause a wide range of problems in both their professional and personal lives. Medical school is just the beginning of a long and difficult journey that can include residency, fellowship, and beyond for doctors who struggle with burnout. According to a prior poll, 35% of allergists and immunologists are burned out. However, more information about allergy and immunology fellows-in-training (FIT) health and wellness must be available. This group report aims to analyze FIT health and wellness in our field of study.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) sent out an anonymous online questionnaire to 388 fellowship-trained allergists and immunologists (FIT) using the validated mini-Z survey. Aside from the mini-Z items, the survey also contained open-ended wellness questions and questions about the respondent’s personal and professional demographics. Out of a possible 200 FIT, 82 responded, for a response rate of 24%. 39% of doctors experienced burnout, significantly lower than the average for US doctors. 82% of workers said they were happy with their jobs, and 72% said they felt they had a good job.
Their findings highlight issues unique to the field of FIT, allowing us to design more effective treatments to promote health and reduce burnout within this population. But more surveys are needed to keep tackling the wellness issues unique to allergy and immunology.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213219822008741
