Psychiatrist and trainee burnout: Commentary and recommendations on management

Jeffrey Cl Looi; Stephen Allison; Tarun Bastiampillai; Matthew Brazel; Stephen R Kisely; Paul A Maguire

doi:10.1177/10398562221124798

Psychiatrist and trainee burnout: Commentary and recommendations on management

Australas Psychiatry. 2022 Dec;30(6):750-753. doi: 10.1177/10398562221124798. Epub 2022 Sep 15.

Authors

Jeffrey Cl Looi¹, Stephen Allison², Tarun Bastiampillai³, Matthew Brazel⁴, Stephen R Kisely⁵, Paul A Maguire¹

Affiliations

¹ Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Canberra Hospital, 104822The Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACT, Australia; and Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA), Canberra, ACT, Australia.
² Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA), Canberra, ACT, Australia; and College of Medicine and Public Health, 1065Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
³ Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA), Canberra, ACT, Australia; College of Medicine and Public Health, 1065Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia; and Department of Psychiatry, 2541Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Canberra Hospital, 104822The Australian National University Medical School, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁵ Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA), Canberra, ACT, Australia; School of Medicine, Princess Alexandra Hospital, 1974The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; and Departments of Psychiatry, Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

PMID: 36112911
DOI: 10.1177/10398562221124798

Abstract

Objective: To comment upon the evidence-base regarding psychiatrist and trainee burnout and provide recommendations on management.

Conclusions: Burnout has been conceptualised as a specific stress-related response, primarily related to work. There is a high prevalence of burnout amongst both trainees and psychiatrists internationally, with substantial consequences for personal and family wellbeing, organisational efficiency and patient care. We summarise the evidence on organisational and individual approaches to addressing burnout.

Keywords: Burnout; management; psychiatrist; toxic workplace; trainee.

MeSH terms

Burnout, Professional* / epidemiology
Humans
Prevalence
Psychiatry*