SOLACI | Latin American Society of Interventional Cardiology

For the first time, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) has carried out a survey on this phenomenon, and more than 25% of Cardiologists have reported the characteristic symptoms of burnout. This syndrome is known, among other things, for chronic fatigue at work, low self-esteem and difficulty to focus, associated with stress and aggressiveness.

These findings should be taken seriously, since they may impact on patient care. Historically, healthcare institutions have worked both to improve patient care and reduce costs. With these results, presented at the AHA meeting scientific sessions, we should add physician satisfaction to this list as crucial to improve patient care.

The survey, carried out by ACC in 2015, included 964 women and 1349 men completing 10 questions. Burnout was defined as one or more intermittent or permanent symptoms.

Global prevalence was 27%, but it was more frequent in women (31% vs 24%, p< 0.05). The most common predictors were permanent feeling of stress, no control over workload, hostile work environment, insufficient time for administrative work. All these triggers can build up, though most of them could be managed effectively.

Hospitals should make sure their physicians feel valued, that computerized systems work well, that the working environment is amenable and teams are operational, that there is enough time for record keeping and for complying with any other required formality.

Burnout symptoms associated to family responsibilities are typically more frequent in women than in men. Women also more often suffer discrimination, they are not considered men’s equal and their work is often underappreciated. These differences, observed in a population of male and female clinical cardiologists, is probably more frequent amongst interventionists.

Original title: Burnout and career satisfaction among cardiologists.

Reference: Mehta LS et al. American Heart Association 2017 Scientific Sessions.