Burnout among veterinary anaesthesia specialists: time to 'rock the boat' (part 1).

Objective: To determine the prevalence of burnout among veterinary anaesthesia specialists and explore correlations with sociodemographic variables.

Study design: Cross-sectional, online, anonymous, voluntary survey.

Population: A total of 530 worldwide veterinary anaesthesia specialists affiliated to American (ACVAA) and/or European (ECVAA) Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia Colleges.

Methods: An electronic questionnaire, incorporating the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel [MBI-HSS (MP)] and a sociodemographic questionnaire, was used. The MBI-HSS (MP) assessed the three burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA) using 22 questions, each with a 7-point Likert-type scale answer option, to compute a total score for each dimension. Thresholds for high levels of EE ≥ 27, DP ≥ 10 and for low level of PA ≤ 33. Responders were categorized as high risk for burnout with EE ≥ 27 and DP ≥ 10, and as having burnout syndrome with EE ≥ 27, DP ≥ 10 and PA ≤ 33. Data were investigated with descriptive statistical and regression analysis; p-value < 0.05.

Results: Participation rate was 54% (286/530 Diplomates); 65% were identified as women; mean age was 44 years; 59% were married/civil partnership; 52% were ACVAA affiliated; 50% were working in North America; and 51% in academia. The prevalence of high risk for burnout was 42.6% (122/286), and for burnout syndrome was 24.5% (70/286). Number of hours worked per week positively correlated with EE (p < 0.0001) and DP (p = 0.02). Out-of-hours duty positively correlated with EE (p = 0.01) and DP (p = 0.04) and negatively correlated with PA (p = 0.04). Higher burnout prevalence was identified among younger Diplomates, those working ≥ 40 hours per week, in academia/research, and in North America.

Conclusions and clinical relevance: Concerted effort is required to address the unacceptably high risk of developing burnout and burnout syndrome observed among ACVAA/ECVAA Diplomates.