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Burnout, bullying common for young infectious disease clinicians
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About one-fifth of young medical microbiology and infectious disease trainees and specialists surveyed in Europe say they have been bullied at work, while many also report being worn out and frustrated, according to a recent study.
The survey’s findings, published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, showed that women fare worse than men, among other disparities.
“This survey suggests less than ideal working conditions and worrying levels of dissatisfaction among young clinicians working in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases,” study researcher David S. Y. Ong, MD, PhD, a clinical microbiology resident at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, said in a news release. “It’s notable that, although the situation in some parts of Europe is worse than others, even high-income countries seem unable to create good working conditions for staff in this area.”
The anonymous online survey of 416 clinicians at a mean age of 32 years was conducted by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Trainee Association, of which Ong is president.
Altogether, 37.7% of respondents were male, and 62.3% were female. The majority — 56.7% (n = 236) — worked in Southern or Eastern Europe, whereas 35.1% (n = 146) worked in Northern or Western Europe. Another 8.2% (n = 34) worked outside Europe.
Overall, 21.9% of participants said they had been bullied (referred to as “mobbing” in the study). Broken down by demographics, bullying was reported by 17.8% of men and 24.3% of women. It affected 13% of those working in Northern and Western Europe, 28.8% in Southern and Eastern Europe and 11.8% of those outside Europe.
The participants were asked to rank, on a scale of one to five, their feelings on whether they achieved less than they deserved, their frustration level, whether they felt unappreciated and their sense of being worn out.
Women were more likely than men to feel they were achieving less than they deserve, with mean rankings of 2.95 vs. 2.67, respectively. The same numbers resulted when feelings of being worn out were compared between the sexes.
Respondents working in Southern and Eastern Europe were the least satisfied with their achievement level, with a mean rank of 3.43, as compared with 2.88 in Northern and Western Europe and 2.85 outside Europe.
The Southern and Eastern European group was also the most worn out, registering a mean of 3.03 compared with 2.55 and 2.79 for the other regions, respectively.
Study researcher Evelina Tacconelli, MD, PhD, warned that regional inequalities could lead to an imbalance of care.
“This survey suggests that conditions vary within Europe, with worse conditions in Southern and Eastern European countries,” said the ESCMID education officer.
“This is a risk because it could mean doctors choosing to work in countries where working conditions are better, with shortages in other countries.”
Focusing in part on the difficulty many physicians have in achieving a healthy work-life balance, the researchers cited previous studies on the roots of physician malcontent.
“Physicians are among the most susceptible individuals failing to achieve this balance due to heavy work demands, long working hours, shift work … and staff shortages,” they wrote.
“Imbalance between professional and personal life is a well-known risk factor for work stress and burnout.”
They further noted studies revealing that doctors were commonly unhappy with their work, which made it difficult for them to address and solve problems at home. – by Joe Green
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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