Comparison of stress and burnout among anesthesia and surgical residents in a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India

OBJECTIVE: The residents undergoing training at hospitals in our country face challenges in terms of infrastructure and high workload with undefined working hours. The aim of the study was to compare the stress and burnout levels in trainee doctors doing residency in surgical fields and anesthesia at a tertiary care academic center in North India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparative, observational study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India. After Ethics Committee approval, 200 residents (100 each from surgical branches and anesthesia) were required to fill a questionnaire with information about age, sex, year of residency, marital status, and the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire-12. Burnout and perceived stress were compared between residents of anesthesia and surgical specialties. RESULTS: Residents of both surgical and anesthesia branches scored high in perceived stress, namely 21 and 18, respectively. The score was significantly higher in surgical residents (P = 0.03) and increased progressively with the year of residency. The majority of residents (90% surgical, 80% anesthesia) felt that they were being overloaded with work. However, only 20%–30% of respondents felt that there was lack of development of individual skills and still fewer (<10%) reported giving up in view of difficulties. CONCLUSION: There is high level of stress and overload dimension of burnout among the residents of anesthesia and surgical branches at our tertiary care academic institution and the surgical residents score marginally higher than anesthesia residents.