• Fabio Margiotta, Genevieve Crudden, Dara Byrne, and Anne M Doherty.
• Department of Psychiatry, Galway University Hospital, Galway, Ireland. Fabio.Margiotta@gmail.com.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2019 May 1; 188 (2): 355-364.

ObjectivesBurnout is prevalent among doctors and affects the quality of patient care. Little research on burnout in consultant-level doctors has been done. The objective of this study was to measure burnout in the hospital consultant population in Ireland.MethodsSurveys were distributed to consultants in Ireland from September to December 2016. The anonymous online survey combined demographic questions and the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey.ResultsFour hundred seventy-seven (22%) consultants completed the survey. Of these, 42% reported high levels of burnout. We found that face-to-face contact with patients, specialty, exercise, remuneration and type of contract influenced burnout levels.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated that over 40% of the consultants studied are affected by burnout. This finding raises concerns for patient safety and standard of care as well as doctors well-being. Interventions to address and minimise burnout are important to guarantee high patient outcomes and retain medical staff.

20 keywords...

hide…