Burnout and Joy in the Profession of Critical Care Medicine

The intensive care unit (ICU) can be a stressful environment for patients and families, with well-established long-term consequences. The impact that this unique environment can have on healthcare professionals is being increasingly recognized. Challenging ethical situations, exposure to high patient mortality and difficult daily workloads can lead to excessive stress for those caring for critically ill patients. A growing body of literature suggests that this excessive stress and resultant moral distress can lead to burnout syndrome. In this state-of-the art review, we focus on the epidemiology of burnout syndrome in the ICU and the impact it can have on clinicians, patients, and the health service. Risk factors for burnout syndrome, alongside potential strategies to mitigate burnout and optimize fulfillment, are also discussed. We conclude that burnout is a threat to the profession of critical care medicine, with high prevalence rates across critical care provider disciplines. However, with a robust community response to the call to action, the opportunity exists to mitigate burnout and optimize fulfillment among critical care professionals to ensure that caring, compassionate, high-quality critical care is delivered to all critically ill patients.