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Cited by 560Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutStress and Burnout ResearchOccupational Health and Burnout

Burnout and Doctors: Prevalence, Prevention and Intervention

Open access
Kumar, Shailesh·2016·Healthcare
DOI 10.3390/healthcare4030037PMC PMC5041038
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Abstract

Doctors are exposed to high levels of stress in the course of their profession and are particularly susceptible to experiencing burnout. Burnout has far-reaching implications on doctors; patients and the healthcare system. Doctors experiencing burnout are reported to be at a higher risk of making poor decisions; display hostile attitude toward patients; make more medical errors; and have difficult relationships with co-workers. Burnout among doctors also increases risk of depression; anxiety; sleep disturbances; fatigue; alcohol and drug misuse; marital dysfunction; premature retirement and perhaps most seriously suicide. Sources of stress in medical practice may range from the emotions arising in the context of patient care to the environment in which doctors practice. The extent of burnout may vary depending on the practice setting; speciality and changing work environment. Understanding dynamic risk factors associated with burnout may help us develop strategies for preventing and treating burnout. Some of these strategies will be reviewed in this paper.

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  • Chronic exposure to stress is the main risk factor for the onset of burnout syndrome in physicians.

    “As previously mentioned, chronic exposure to stress is the main risk factor.[57]”

    From Burnout syndrome among medical residents: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2018) · cites this paper as [57]

    Section 2, “Impact of Chronic Exposure to Stress on Doctors” (page not provided), describes burnout as a consequence of chronic stress and says such exposure may lead to burnout in some doctors. It does not establish that chronic stress is the main risk factor, and it notes that not every doctor exposed to chronic stress develops burnout. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Certain sociodemographic characteristics appear to be risk factors in the medical population: a young age, female gender, negative marital status and high workload.

    “Finally, certain sociodemographic characteristics appear to be risk factors in the medical population: a young age, female gender, negative marital status and high workload.[57]”

    From Burnout syndrome among medical residents: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2018) · cites this paper as [57]

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Research works printed but not linked: 37

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kumar, S.
Affiliations
University of Auckland (NZ)
Corresponding author
Kumar, Shailesh
ORCID
Kumar, Shailesh
Venue
Healthcare
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2016-06-30
Volume
4
Issue
3
Pages
37
ISSN
2227-9032 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/healthcare4030037
PMC
PMC5041038
OpenAlex
W2463189693
Cited by
560
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 67 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 16
FWCI
7.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Healthcare (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
Keywords
burnout, physicians, occupational stress, burnout prevention, burnout intervention, medical errors, depression, suicide risk, work environment, risk factors, physician well-being

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