BURNOUT IN THE INTERNIST-INTENSIVIST

Objectives: Caring for acutely ill patients imposes significant demand s on physicians. The environment and stresses of the ICU may lead to t he burnout syndrome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pre valence of burnout among internal medicine intensivists and the contri buting factors present in ICU practice. Design: Mailed survey utilizin g the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Increasing burnout has been sho wn to be associated with low levels on personal achievement and high s cores on depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. Subjects: Random sample of members of the Internal Medicine Section of the Society of C ritical Care Medicine. Measurements and main results: 248 people respo nded: 220 (88.7%) males and 28 females. Mean age of all respondents wa s 41.6+/-6.7 years. The majority (58.1%) worked in large hospitals (>4 00 beds); 55.6% devoted more than 50% of their time to critical care. The emotional exhaustion subscale of the MBI averaged 22.2+/-9.5, with a third of respondents scoring in the high range. The depersonalizati on score averaged 7.1+/-5.1%, with 20.4% of respondents scoring in the high range. Similarly personal achievement subscores were poor, with a mean value of 30.9+/-6.4%, with 59% scoring in the low range. High l evels of emotional exhaustion were associated with anticipating leavin g critical care before retirement. Conclusions: Burnout as measured by the MBI appears to be common in internal medicine intensivists. High levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are related not o nly to patient care issues but also to a poor support system.