PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT OF PHYSICIANS: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
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Abstract
Professional burnout of physicians is one of the most acute problems of modern healthcare, negatively affecting the quality of medical care, staffing stability, and the economic efficiency of the industry.
The aim of the study is to summarize current scientific data on risk factors, mechanisms of development, and prevention strategies for burnout syndrome in physicians of various specialties to develop practical recommendations for its prevention.
Materials and methods. Study design – a single-stage cross-sectional study of 346 physicians from 7 medical organizations in Novosibirsk (2021-2025): therapeutic profile – 212 (61.27%), surgical profile – 134 (38.72%); males – 61 (17.6%), females – 285 (82.37%); additionally, 20 second-year otorhinolaryngology residents were examined. Methods: assessment of working conditions based on Special Assessment of Working Conditions (SAWC) data; health assessment based on periodic medical examination records; questionnaire survey using SF-36, «Assessment of Professional Maladjustment» (Rodina, Dmitrieva), «Professional Burnout» (Vodopyanova et al.), 4DSQ, D-FIS; analysis of domestic and foreign publications (2020-2025) in PubMed/Medline, Scopus, eLIBRARY.RU databases. Statistical analysis – SPSS 17.0. The study was conducted in compliance with ethical standards, and informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Results and their discussion. It has been established that the prevalence of burnout syndrome among physicians reaches 50-99% depending on the region and specialty. The key risk factors are organizational (overload, high bureaucratic burden, lack of time for appointments), professional (high responsibility for patients' lives, emotionally intense contacts), and individual-personal (perfectionism, anxiety). The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly exacerbated the problem.
Conclusion. Prevention of professional burnout in physicians requires a transition from strategies focused on individual resilience to systemic organizational interventions, including optimization of workload, reduction of bureaucratic pressure, development of a supportive organizational culture, and implementation of psychological support programs.
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