General practitioner residents' mental health and satisfaction in relation to their professional training

András Mohos, Péter Torzsa, László Kolozsvári, József Rinfel, Gergely Ágoston

Keywords: burnout, general practitioners, residents, specialisation training, satisfaction

Background:

Burnout, hopelessness and depression are prevalent among general practitioners in Hungary, and resident doctors are affected in a higher proportion than their elder colleagues. This situation may decrease doctors' wellbeing, can cause doctors' exit from primary care and affect patient care negatively.

Research questions:

How frequent are burnout, hopelessness and depression among GP residents?
How satisfied are the GP residents with their specialisation program and with the situation of the Hungarian healthcare system?

Method:

We collected data with a self-administered questionnaire in a cross-sectional study among GP residents (N=166). We assessed burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and calculated the proportion of physicians suffering from low, intermediate and high degree of burnout. We used shortened Beck Depression Inventory and short Beck hopelessness scale to measure depression and hopelessness. Data collection was carried out between December 2023 and January 2024. Statistical significance was considered, as p-values derived from the statistical tests were below 0.05.

Results:

The prevalence of moderate and high-level emotional exhaustion was 26.2% and 15.2%, depersonalisation was 21.3% and 20.7%, impaired personal accomplishment was 30.2% and 40.7%. Age correlated negatively with depersonalization (p=0,019) and personal accomplishment (p=0,012). Mild, moderate and severe depression was indicated in 12.1%, 4.2% and 4.8%. 5.4% of the residents showed severe hopelessness. About two-thirds of the students (63.8%) considered the current situation of Hungarian health care system rather bad (≤2 on a 5-point scale). More than two-thirds of the residents (69.8%) are satisfied with the specialization program and 87.3% of them would choose family medicine again if they should choose a speciality again.

Conclusions:

Although GP residents are mostly satisfied with the specialisation program and with their career decision, mental health problems occur frequently among them. Handling of this situation and a high-quality training program play a significant role in creating a sustainable strong primary care system.

Points for discussion:

Which are the most effective interventions to prevent burnout among GP residents?

How frequent is burnout among GP residents in other European countries?

How can we improve the GP specialisation program?

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