Physician Burnout

Physician burnout is more common among physicians than among many other healthcare workers and has persisted over decades. Physician burnout is a work-related syndrome involving emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment. Measuring burnout is difficult because there is no universal consensus on its definition or diagnostic threshold. Burnout involves emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment caused by chronic work-related stress. Burnout is associated with lower career engagement, higher turnover, poorer patient care quality, and increased system costs. Physician burnout is framed as a global crisis affecting healthcare sustainability and patient safety. Physician burnout can damage patient trust and raise the risk of medical errors. Burnout can undermine physicians' mental health and has been associated with suicidal ideation linked to loss of professional purpose. Burnout contributes to physician attrition, shortages and healthcare costs.