Jelle T. Prins

Burnout in medical residents : a review

Objectives  This study aimed to review current knowledge on burnout in medical residents, including reported prevalence rates, and to establish which risk and resistance factors contribute to or prevent burnout in medical residents.

Workaholism, burnout and well-being among junior doctors: The mediating role of role conflict

Abstract This study, conducted on a nation-wide sample of Dutch junior doctors (also called medical residents) (N =2115), investigated the unique relationships of workaholism with burnout and well-being, and hypothesized that (inter- and intra-) role conflict would mediate these effects. The results of multi-group structural equation modelling analyses offered support for this model. Specifically, role conflict fully mediated the relationships between workaholism (i.e. working excessively and working compulsively) and job demands (i.e. emotional, mental and organizational demands) on the one hand, and burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced medical accomplishment) and well-being (job satisfaction, happiness and perceived health) on the other hand. This indicates that workaholism contributed incrementally to explaining positive (well-being) and negative (burnout) outcomes beyond common indicators of job demands.

Burnout and engagement among resident doctors in the Netherlands: a national study

Medical Education 2010: 44 : 236–247

Suicidal Thoughts Among Medical Residents with Burnout

Objectives: Recent research showed that medical residents have a high risk for developing burnout. The present study investigates the prevalence of burnout and its relationship with suicidal thoughts among medical residents. Methods: All Dutch medical residents (n = 5126) received a self-report questionnaire. Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Residents were asked about the frequency of suicidal thoughts. Results: Response rate was 41.3% (n = 2115). 432 Residents (20.6%) were classified as burnout. 12% reported having suicidal thoughts at least 1 time during their residency, and 1% many times. Suicidal thoughts were substantially more prevalent in the group with burnout in comparison to non-burnout (20.5% vs. 7.6%; χ2 = 182.9, p < .001). Conclusion: Knowledge about the relationship between burnout and suicidal thoughts among these young medical professionals could be important for suicide prevention.

The relationship between reciprocity and burnout in Dutch medical residents

Objective  This study examined reciprocity in medical residents’ relationships with supervisors, fellow residents, nurses and patients, and associations between reciprocity and burnout. Furthermore, we considered if a discrepancy between the perceived and preferred levels of reciprocity influenced the level of burnout complaints.

Are you attached

Broadening horizons and developing new insights into the problems we face in medical education and health care are highly necessary. Generating a new model in which attachment theory is used to understand how problems of poor care giving might be explained is both challenging and daring. To the best of our knowledge, looking into the attachment of caregivers and the way in which they deal with care-eliciting and care-giving behaviours is quite new. As such, we would like to commend Adshead, who reviews the current state of knowledge on attachment and draws attention to its potential role in health care and medical education within this issue.

Burnout in Dutch postgraduate trainees in psychiatry

In recent years, burnout among postgraduate trainees, who are also called medical residents, has been an important and frequently debated topic. International studies show a burnout prevalence ranging from 18% to 82%. In 2007, Prins et al. conducted an extensive review of all articles about burnout published between 1975 and 2005. The conclusion was that less than 1% of all literature regarding burnout focuses on postgraduate trainees during a time when they are in a situation with a high workload and high expectations, making them vulnerable to burnout. Moreover, there is even less published data on the prevalence of burnout among postgraduate trainees in psychiatry. It is, however, important to recognize and prevent burnout in training hospitals. Not only does burnout have negative effects on the quality of patient care, it also affects the educational development and wellbeing of the trainee; for instance, a relatively strong relationship between burnout and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts has been shown (van der Heijden et al. 2008). The present article describes the results of a study of burnout symptoms in Dutch postgraduate trainees in psychiatry and discusses the importance of burnout research.