1949. Putting Out Fires: Assessing Burnout within an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at an Academic Medical Center

BACKGROUND: Burnout, “a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA),” is a well-described problem in the medical community. National surveys report 45% of practicing physicians and 60% of residents and fellows are burnt out. A longitudinal study of medical students and residents reported 45% burnout, as well as career choice regret in 14% of trainees. There are little data about burnout in Infectious Diseases (ID) physicians, including fellows. We sought to measure burnout prevalence in an academic ID Division, identify factors that modified the risk of burnout, and assess knowledge and attitudes about fellow and faculty burnout in the division. METHODS: The study population included 33 ID physicians (10 fellows, 23 faculties). Level of burnout was assessed via the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), a validated 22-item tool. An additional survey was distributed as a needs assessment to determine participant understanding of “burnout” and “wellness,” ability to recognize burnout in colleagues, attitudes about the scope of the problem, and specific programmatic and personal factors felt to contribute to burnout. RESULTS: The MBI was completed by 10 fellows and 16 faculties (76%). A high score in ≥ 1 domain of burnout was reported in 50% of respondents, and 19% received a high score in both EE and DP. Fellows had moderate to high levels of EE (90%) and DP (70%), though all fellows reported at least a moderate sense of PA. The survey needs assessment was completed by 9 fellows and 17 faculties (79%). In a hypothetical case, 100% and 58% of participants correctly identified elements of DP and EE, respectively. Respondents identified several factors contributing to burnout risk, most commonly being lack of schedule autonomy (100%), increasing patient load (96%), and inability to attend teaching conferences (88%). Fellows felt burnt out when seeing ≥ 4 new consults per day and/or carrying a census of 10–11 patients. CONCLUSION: ID fellows at an academic medical center recognize burnout and report levels on par with national data. Fellows and faculty can identify personal and programmatic factors that increase and decrease their risk of burnout. These data can guide programmatic and divisional interventions to improve trainee wellness. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All Authors: No reported Disclosures.