L. C. Ladehoff1, M. J. Diaz2, K. Patel3, S. Batchu3, K. Taneja4, K. Root4 1University Of South Florida College Of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA 2University Of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA 3Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ, USA 4Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY, USA
Introduction: The prevalence of burnout amongst clinicians has significantly increased in recent years, particularly with respect to the surgeon population. This trend is concerning due to its harmful effects upon surgeons, patients, and healthcare systems as a whole. Our aim is to compare the incidence of burnout between orthopedic surgery and general surgery. In doing so, we hope to identify which factors contribute most to burnout, how the two surgical specialties respond to these issues, and understand how to more effectively decrease the surgeon burnout rate.
Methods: Utilizing the 2022 Medscape Surgeon Burnout & Depression Report, survey responses from 13,000 surgeons representing 29 specialties were obtained. Surgeons were subsequently queried by primary specialty, yielding 261 orthopedic surgeons and 392 general surgeons. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated using the general surgeon population as a reference group. All statistical analyses were conducted using Stata.
Results: From the survey results, 37% of orthopedic surgeons reported experiencing burnout (n=97), while 44% of general surgeons reported burnout (n=173). Compared to general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons were significantly more likely to attribute sleep to their burnout management (OR: 1.44, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) [1.05, 1.97]), and were less likely to use therapy to cope with burnout (OR: 0.32, 95% CI [0.15, 0.71]). Orthopedic surgeons were also less likely to be clinically diagnosed with depression compared to general surgeons (OR: 0.67, 95% CI [0.46, 0.99]). In addition, orthopedic surgeons were less likely than general surgeons to attribute burnout to a lack of clinical autonomy (OR: 0.56, 95% CI [0.40, 0.78]), too many hours at work (OR: 0.62, 95% CI [0.43,0.90]), or stress from COVID-19 related issues (OR: 0.17, 95% CI [0.09, 0.34]).
Conclusion: Orthopedic surgeons were less likely to experience burnout when compared to general surgeons. Significant differences in burnout rates between general surgeons and orthopedic surgeons were attributed to lack of autonomy, high levels of work hours, and stress from COVID-19-related issues. Future research should examine how other surgical specialties associate and cope with burnout, with emphasis on implementation of protective factors for surgeon burnout.