The following is a summary of “Physician Burnout in Pediatric Gastroenterology,” published in the January 2023 issue of Gastroenterology and Nutrition by Chien, et al.

Burnout in doctors can have a severe impact on patient care and increase the risk of medical mistakes. Physicians’ personal relationships, feeling of professional fulfillment, and level of work satisfaction can all be impacted by burnout. A task force was established by the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) to look at pediatric gastroenterologists’ burnout.

To gather data on demographics and professional practices as well as assess the well-being of pediatric gastroenterologists, a 35-item computerized survey was created. Two single-item measures from the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to assess burnout. Members of NASPGHAN received the survey three times between February 2020 and March 2020. Fisher exact tests, descriptive statistics, and Chi-square were applied.

A total of 1,790,911 emails were successfully sent, and 408 respondents (22.7%) responded to the questionnaires. A total of 28.8%, 17.5%, and 33% of respondents identified significant risks for depersonalization, emotional weariness, and overall burnout, respectively. Participants who were 44 years old or younger than those who were 45 years old or older reported substantially higher burnout (P = 0.018). Increased patient loads/demands, inadequate nursing assistance, the use of electronic health records (EHR), a lack of administrative personnel, extensive on-call coverage, and more complicated patients were all highlighted as factors contributing to significant burnout. About 44% of respondents said they didn’t have enough time for their personal lives, including their families. 16.2% of participants in total said they would not pursue a career as a pediatric gastroenterologist in the future.

Pediatric gastroenterologists were susceptible to burnout, depersonalization, and emotional weariness. To enhance individual mental health and patient care, strategies to minimize physician burnout should be put into practice as soon as is practically practicable.

Reference: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Abstract/2023/01000/Physician_Burnout_in_Pediatric_Gastroenterology.6.aspx