Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Department of Neurosurgery, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2021 Nov;210:106958. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106958. Epub 2021 Sep 28.
The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unprecedented new stressors to medical student education. This national survey investigated the prevalence of burnout in U.S. medical students interested in pursuing neurosurgical residency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 24-question survey was sent to all American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) medical student chapter members. The abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI) was used to measure the following burnout metrics: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Bivariate analyses were conducted and multivariate analyses were performed using a logistic regression models.
254 medical students were included (response rate of 14.5%). The majority were male (55.1%), White (66.1%), and between their 2nd and 3rd years in medical school (62.6%). Burnout was identified in 38 (15.0%) respondents, a rate lower than reported in the pre-COVID era. In multivariate analysis, burnout was significantly associated with choosing not to pursue, or feeling uncertain about pursuing, a medical career again if given the choice (OR = 3.40, p = 0.0075), having second thoughts about choosing to pursue neurosurgery (OR = 3.47, p = 0.0025), attending a medical program in the Northeast compared to the Southeast (OR = 0.32, p = 0.027) or Southwest U.S. (OR = 0.30, p = 0.046), and indicating that one's future clinical performance will have worsened due to COVID-19 (OR = 2.71, p = 0.025).
Our study demonstrates relatively low rates of burnout among U.S. medical students interested in pursuing neurosurgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings also demonstrate multiple factors may aid in early identification of burnout, highlighting potential opportunities for intervention.
新型冠状病毒病 2019（COVID-19）大流行给医学生教育带来了前所未有的新压力。这项全国性调查研究了在 COVID-19 大流行期间对从事神经外科住院医师感兴趣的美国医学生中 burnout 的患病率。
向所有美国神经外科学会（AANS）医学生分会成员发送了一份 24 个问题的调查。使用简短的 Maslach 倦怠量表（aMBI）来衡量以下倦怠指标：情绪衰竭、去人格化和个人成就感。进行了双变量分析，并使用逻辑回归模型进行了多变量分析。
共纳入 254 名医学生（应答率为 14.5%）。大多数是男性（55.1%），白人（66.1%），处于医学生涯的第 2 年至第 3 年（62.6%）。38 名（15.0%）受访者出现倦怠，这一比例低于 COVID 前报告的比例。在多变量分析中，选择不再从事或对再次从事医疗事业感到不确定（OR=3.40，p=0.0075）、对选择从事神经外科手术有顾虑（OR=3.47，p=0.0025）、选择在东北部的医学院学习而不是东南部（OR=0.32，p=0.027）或西南部（OR=0.30，p=0.046）、并表示由于 COVID-19，他们未来的临床表现将会恶化（OR=2.71，p=0.025）与倦怠显著相关。
我们的研究表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，对从事神经外科感兴趣的美国医学生中 burnout 的比率相对较低。我们的研究结果还表明，多种因素可能有助于早期识别 burnout，突出了干预的潜在机会。
