Investigation on Burnout of Physicians

Burnout, proposed by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974, is defined as a syndrome resulting from chronic exposure to workplace stressors and the inability to successfully manage them. Subsequently, Maslach et al. considered burnout as the state of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment resulting from prolonged exposure to work-related stressors. In January 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) included "burn-out" in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) for the first time, officially recognizing it as a disease. Burnout is considered a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Compared to other professions, doctors are at a higher risk of experiencing burnout. Burnout among medical professionals is closely related to job quality, doctor-patient relationships, and overall health. In 2022, 47% of 13,000 physicians in the United States reported experiencing burnout. Investigating whether burnout affects physical and mental health, thereby impacting the quality of healthcare, is essential.