Physician Burnout and Work Satisfaction in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: Sponsored by the Critical Care Cardiology Section of the American College of Cardiology.

BACKGROUND

Physician burnout represents a modern medical crisis, especially among high-intensity specialties.

OBJECTIVES

This is the first study to investigate physician burnout in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).

METHODS

A 42-item survey was administered to U.S. and Canadian CICU-focused physicians, designed in part to assess burnout and work satisfaction.

RESULTS

Of 1,085 contacted physicians, 289 completed the survey for a response rate of 27%; 218 (75%) of these were eligible for analysis, including 207 from the U.S. and 11 from Canada. Most respondents were White (62%) males (70%), aged 31 to 50 years (61%). Approximately 1/3 of physicians were American Board of Internal Medicine dually certified in cardiology and critical care medicine. Seventy percent reported being very satisfied with their current job, although less than half (48%) were happy with their work-life balance or required professional work outside the hospital (41%). Overall, 35% of respondents reported some degree of burnout, with higher rates among women compared to men (53% vs 30%, P = 0.03) and in later career stages (≥8 years vs <8 years; 43% vs 25%, P = 0.04). Burnout was not associated with number of day or nighttime shifts, nor salary or type of board certification. One-third of respondents were planning to leave their current job or reduce clinical hours, predominantly due to burnout (61%).

CONCLUSIONS

Burnout is more common in women and later career stages and is the leading reason cited by CICU-focused physicians that are considering practice change. It affects 1 of 3 CICU-focused physicians and impacts work satisfaction.