Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Odei, B.
• Chino, F.

Titel

Incidence of Burnout Among Female and Minority Faculty in Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology

Ist Teil von

• International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 2021-11, Vol.111 (3), p.S28-S29

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Physician burnout is a growing concern in medical practice with deleterious effects on physician wellbeing and patient outcomes. Multiple studies have shown an association between physician burnout and medical errors, lower patient satisfaction, and decreased professional work effort. The presence of burnout in oncology is well documented, however it is unclear if burnout affects gender and racial subgroups similarly in academic oncology. We obtained Faculty Burnout data from a survey conducted between 2017-2020 by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The survey includes data from 19,363 faculty respondents (representing a 64% response rate). Data specific to radiation oncologists (RO) and medical oncologists (MO) were identified. Subgroup categories assessed were gender, race, and academic rank. A 2-tailed Z proportional test was utilized for statistical comparisons. There were 519 oncologists identified representing 45.8% RO and 54.2% MO. Effort distribution was noted to be similar between RO and MO specialties: patient care (47-56%), research (22-28%), teaching (9-10%), and administrative service/work (12-16%). Overall, 21% of RO and 26% of MO reported burnout symptoms; 43% of RO and 41% of MO reported feeling under stress; and 36% of RO and 33% of MO reported enjoying their work. Female RO reported burnout more often than their male counterparts (26% vs 18%; P < 0.05) and were less likely to report enjoying their work (41% vs 24%; P < 0.05). This trend was also identified among MO, where 21% of male physicians and 33% of female physicians (P < 0.05) reported symptoms of burnout, with job satisfaction higher among male physicians 41% in comparison to female physicians (22%; P < 0.05). Minority faculty in RO were disproportionately more burned out (40%) than non-minority faculty (19%), with job satisfaction reported among 20% of minority faculty relative to 37% of non-minority faculty (all P < 0.05). However, the converse was true in MO where burnout was higher among non-minority faculty (27 vs 18%), and job satisfaction was higher among minority faculty (31% vs 47%), all P < 0.05. RO full professors experienced lower burnout (12%) with 50% enjoying their work. Burnout was higher among associate professors (27%) and assistant professors (25%). Similarly, 18% of full professors in MO experienced burnout, with 43% enjoying their work, while the burnout incidence was 33% among associate professors and 28% among Assistant professors. This modern-era study showed that symptoms of burnout were prevalent among RO and MO, with a low proportion of oncology faculty reporting satisfaction in their roles. We found an alarmingly higher incidence of burnout among female oncology physicians, and among minority faculty in RO. Our findings suggest that burnout mitigation interventions in oncology departments are either lacking or inadequate, with potentially adverse implications for faculty attrition among women and minorities.