The Prevalence and Severity of Burnout Among Academic Orthopaedic Departmental Leaders*

Burnout has many definitions but the most commonly accepted is “a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding.”1 It tends to be most common among medical professionals as a result of long working hours, stresses associated with the responsibilities of patient care, and emotional contact with patients2. According to Jones, burnout—a syndrome of progressive emotional, attitudinal, and physical exhaustion—is a critical occupational hazard for people in a wide range of helping professions3. Those who are affected find themselves plagued by chronic fatigue, low energy, irritability, and a negative attitude toward themselves, toward others, and toward their jobs. Because they are emotionally depleted and cynical, they may have a negative impact on those around them, including the individuals with whom they work and the patients they treat. Among the members of the so-called helping professions, physicians are clearly most afflicted with burnout and, as we noted in our previous report4, they have by now been quite intensively studied. Characteristically, burnout syndrome involves the development of a cynical attitude and the loss of concern for people with whom one is working. In addition to physical exhaustion, which harms physical health through many pathways5, burnout is also characterized by an emotional exhaustion wherein the professional experiences growing negative feelings, cynicism, or disrespect for patients and colleagues. “A very cynical and dehumanized perception of these people often develops in which they are labeled in derogatory ways and therefore treated accordingly.”6 Gabbe et al.7 undertook a cross-sectional study, in which a questionnaire was sent to 131 chairs of academic departments of obstetrics and gynecology in the United States and Puerto Rico, and had a 91% response rate. The study found that 22% of the …