Quality of Life Among Residents of General Surgery Residency Training Program in Saudi Arabia: A Nationwide Study

Introduction The General Surgery Residency Training Program is known to be one of the most challenging programs, which greatly impacts the resident’s quality of life (QoL) during their training years. Undertraining residents are usually the first providers of patients’ healthcare in medical facilities. They often get exposed to continuous pressure and stress, especially during long working hours. Aim This study aims to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia and investigate the personal and workplace determinants associated with the level of quality of life. Subjects and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed among the target residents. The questionnaire includes sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., gender, region of the training center, and residency level) and Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale to measure the residents’ quality of life at work. Results Of the 239 residents, 64.9% were males, and 27.2% were resident level 1. Among WRQoL components, only home-work interface (HWI) (mean score: 9.87 out of 15 points) and general well-being (GWB) (mean score: 20.6 out of 30 points) had average ratings, while control at work (CAW), job and career satisfaction (JCS), stress at work (SAW), and working conditions (WCS) were classified as good. The overall WRQoL was deemed good (mean score: 81.3 out of 115 points). Being a female and practicing residency inside central region were the factors associated with better WRQoL. No significant differences were observed between WRQoL in terms of residency level, marital status, and previous visitation to a psychiatrist or psychologist (p>0.05). Conclusion Nearly one-third of the general surgery residents perceived their WRQoL as good. Female residents practicing in the central region demonstrated better quality of life as compared to the rest of the residents. Further research is needed to establish the level of WRQoL and its effect on general surgery residents during residency training.