Burnout and coping strategies among residents of a private medical college in South India: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Burnout is evident in various professions increasingly so in the health-care field, where doctors are involved with direct interactions with dependent patients. Burnout is evident even in residents due to working in demanding and testing conditions which has a negative influence not only on their profession, but also patient care. AIMS: (1) To measure the levels of burnout among the residents and (2) to assess the relationship between severity of burnout and coping strategies. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It is cross-sectional observational study set in a private medical college with residency program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Online self-administered questionnaire was sent to all residents, out of these, 100 residents consented and completely filled the questionnaires and were included in the analysis with a response rate of 55.6%. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic variables, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Brief COPE. RESULTS: Residents who reported burnout as high in two dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are 31.82%. The 2(nd) year residents scored high on burnout measures when compared to 1(st) and 3(rd) year residents. It was observed that as the degree of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization increased from low to high, the frequency of the maladaptive coping strategies also increased. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings it can be concluded that burnout is frequent in residents. Further research is essential to identify the factors that contribute to burnout in residents.