Stress, burnout, depression and work-satisfaction amongst UK anaesthetic trainees; a quantitative analysis of the Satisfaction and Wellbeing in Anaesthetic Training study

There is growing evidence that anaesthetic trainees experience, and may be particularly susceptible to, high levels of work stress, burnout and depression. This is a concern for the safety and wellbeing of these doctors and the patients they treat. To date, there has been no in-depth evaluation of these issues amongst UK anaesthetic trainees examining which groups may be most affected and the professional and personal factors which are associated. We conducted an anonymous electronic survey to determine the prevalence of perceived stress, risk of burnout and depression, and work-satisfaction among anaesthetic trainees within South West England and Wales and explored in detail the influence of key demographic, lifestyle and anaesthetic training variables. We identified a denominator of 619 eligible participants and received 397 responses; a response rate of 6437952 ? 42]), burnout risk (2521-29]) and depression risk (1815-23]) and found that these issues frequently co-exist. Having no children, >3 days of sickness absence in the previous year, 7.5hrs/week of additional non-clinical work were independently predictive of negative psychological outcomes. Although female gender was associated with higher stress, burnout risk was more likely in male respondents. This information could help in the identification of at-risk groups, as well as informing ways to support these groups and influence resource and intervention design. Targeted interventions, such as modification of exercise behaviour and methods of reducing stressors relating to non-clinical workloads, warrant further research.