Work-related burnout syndrome in physicians in Spain

Abstract

This article brings together the views of a working group to deliberate on Burnout among Physicians in Spain. The document is the result of the answers that different members of the group have prepared to different questions on the subject with conclusions derived from the discussion among all the participants. Burnout is an entity with a high incidence in physicians, with serious work, personal and economic repercussions, whose recognition as a disease is changing in recent years. Particularly affected are some specialties, such as Primary Care, Oncology, Intensive Care Medicine, and Palliative Care. The common factor being an increased qualitative or quantitative demand on the professional. Although it may have a substratum of personal characteristics, it is more commonly associated with extrinsic factors specific to the organisation of work and the management of occupational risks. It involves serious indirect costs for the health system including absenteeism, high financial costs and leads to loss of health and well-being in people who suffer it.

Keywords: Burnout; Burnout in Spain; Desgaste profesional; Health-care professionals; Labor risk; Physicians health; Profesionales de la salud; Quemarse por el trabajo; Riesgos laborales; Salud de los médicos.