Resident physicians in family practice: who's burned out and who knows?

Sixty-seven family practice residents and 18 faculty members completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and listed three factors they believed most responsible for resident burnout. In addition, faculty rated residents and residents rated themselves on overall burnout. Mean resident scores on the Maslach ranged from moderate to high, while global self-ratings indicated moderate burnout. Patterns did not vary across programs surveyed, postgraduate year, or gender. Faculty did not appear to be modeling burnout, since they scored in the low to moderate ranges on all Maslach subscales. Residents and faculty overwhelmingly cited time demands as the factor most responsible for resident burnout. Residency directors were more accurate than psychologist faculty in identifying which residents saw themselves as most burned out. Directors significantly underestimated the absolute level of burnout, but psychologists did not. Combined assessments of both faculty groups resulted in significantly better identification than either alone. The prevalence and patterns of burnout and difficulties in identifying affected residents are discussed in terms of the demands of residency training programs and the investment of residents and faculty in current models of medical education.