Purpose of review: This review summarizes the history and scope of physician burnout, and explores recent advances in its understanding. With a particular focus on physicians who have completed their training, it also explores the present and future of interventions designed to alleviate the symptoms and sequelae of burnout.
Recent findings: Nearly 50 years since first described, burnout continues to remain a pervasive issue within anesthesia and medicine as a whole. Recent work has continued to outline risk factors and specialty-specific prevalence, and explore individual and institutional interventions to prevent and treat symptoms.
Summary: Burnout continues to impact all who work in healthcare, at all levels of training. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of the scope, causes, and management of burnout. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that the national and international focus on preventing and remediating burnout will continue to expand and strengthen.
Keywords: Burnout; COVID-19; Job satisfaction; Mental health; Physician burnout; Wellness.
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