Burnout in Surgical Residents of Underrepresented in Medicine Backgrounds: Key Influencing Factors and Possible Solutions

Introduction: Alarming rates of burnout in surgical training pose a concern due to its deleterious effects on both patients and providers. Datum remains lacking on rates of burnout in surgical residents based on race and ethnicity. This study aims to document the frequency of burnout in surgical residents of racially underrepresented backgrounds and elucidate contributing factors. Methods: A 35-question anonymized survey was distributed to general surgery residents from 23 programs between August 2018 and May 2019. This survey was designed from the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory, and included additional questions assessing participant demographics, educational, and social backgrounds. Responses were analyzed utilizing chi-square tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. There was also a free response portion of the survey which was evaluated using thematic analysis. Results: We received 243 responses from 23 general surgery programs yielding a 9% (23/246) program response rate and 26% (243/935) response rate by surgical residents. One hundred and eighty-five participants (76%) identified as nonunderrepresented in medicine and 58 (24%) of participants identified as underrepresented in medicine. Fifty-three percent were male and 47% female. Overall, sixty-six percent of all surgical residents (n = 161) endorsed burnout with racially underrepresented residents reporting higher rates of burnout at 76% compared to 63% in their nonunderrepresented counterparts (P = 0.07). Conclusions: Although the generalizability of these results is limited, higher rates of reported burnout in racially underrepresented trainees noted in our study illuminates the need for continual dialogue on potential influencing factors and mitigation strategies.