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Cited by 145Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutDiversity and Career in MedicineStress and Burnout Research

Factors associated with burnout among US neurosurgery residents: a nationwide survey

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Attenello, Frank J., Buchanan, Ian A., Wen, Timothy, Donoho, Daniel A., McCartney, Shirley, Cen, Steven Y., Khalessi, Alexander A., Cohen-Gadol, Aaron A. +8 more·2018·Journal of Neurosurgery
DOI 10.3171/2017.9.jns17996
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Excessive dissatisfaction and stress among physicians can precipitate burnout, which results in diminished productivity, quality of care, and patient satisfaction and treatment adherence. Given the multiplicity of its harms and detriments to workforce retention and in light of the growing physician shortage, burnout has garnered much attention in recent years. Using a national survey, the authors formally evaluated burnout among neurosurgery trainees. METHODS: An 86-item questionnaire was disseminated to residents in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons database between June and November 2015. Questions evaluated personal and workplace stressors, mentorship, career satisfaction, and burnout. Burnout was assessed using the previously validated Maslach Burnout Inventory. Factors associated with burnout were determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The response rate with completed surveys was 21% (346/1643). The majority of residents were male (78%), 26–35 years old (92%), in a stable relationship (70%), and without children (73%). Respondents were equally distributed across all residency years. Eighty-one percent of residents were satisfied with their career choice, although 41% had at some point given serious thought to quitting. The overall burnout rate was 67%. In the multivariate analysis, notable factors associated with burnout included inadequate operating room exposure (OR 7.57, p = 0.011), hostile faculty (OR 4.07, p = 0.008), and social stressors outside of work (OR 4.52, p = 0.008). Meaningful mentorship was protective against burnout in the multivariate regression models (OR 0.338, p = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Rates of burnout and career satisfaction are paradoxically high among neurosurgery trainees. While several factors were predictive of burnout, including inadequate operative exposure and social stressors, meaningful mentorship proved to be protective against burnout. The documented negative effects of burnout on patient care and health care economics necessitate further studies for potential solutions to curb its rise.

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  • Mentorship is protective against resident burnout.

    “Mentorship is protective against resident burnout [5, 13].”

    From A National Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Burnout in Filipino Neurosurgery Residents (2024) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Discussion reports that residents who did not benefit from their mentor relationship had higher odds of burnout, but merely having a mentor was not significantly associated with burnout in the univariate analysis. The Conclusions describe mentorship’s benefit as “putative,” so the categorical claim that mentorship is protective overstates the survey’s finding. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • The study's findings are within the prevalence range reported in published studies.

    “Our findings are within the prevalence range in published studies [4, 9, 10, 13].”

    From A National Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Burnout in Filipino Neurosurgery Residents (2024) · cites this paper as [13]

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Authors
Attenello, F. J., Buchanan, I. A., Wen, T., Donoho, D. A., McCartney, S., Cen, S. Y., Khalessi, A. A., Cohen-Gadol, A. A., Cheng, J. S., Mack, W. J., Schirmer, C. M., Swartz, K. R., Prall, J. A., Stroink, A. R., Giannotta, S. L., & Klimo, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Oregon Health & Science University (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine, Department of Neurosurgery, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana;
  • University of Cincinnati (US)
  • Geisinger Health System (US)
  • Medical College of Wisconsin (US)
  • Littleton Adventist Hospital (US)
  • Central Illinois Neuro Health Science, Bloomington, Illinois; and
  • University of Tennessee Health Science Center (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Neurosurgery
Publisher
Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group (JNSPG)
Published
2018-11
Volume
129
Issue
5
Pages
1349-1363
ISSN
  • 0022-3085 (ISSN-L)
  • 1933-0693
DOI
10.3171/2017.9.jns17996
OpenAlex
W2786344603
Cited by
145
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 8
FWCI
27.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of neurosurgery (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
University of Southern California
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
Keywords
physician burnout, neurosurgery residents, surgical residency training, career satisfaction, mentoring, social stressors, Maslach Burnout Inventory, resident retention, physician shortage
MeSH terms
Adult, Burnout, Professional, Career Choice, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Internship and Residency, Job Satisfaction, Male, Neurosurgery, Risk Factors, United States, Young Adult

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