Stress and burnout among trainee anaesthesiologists at different stages of FCPS training

Objective: To assess the prevalence and severity of stress level and burnout among trainee anaesthesiologists at two different stages of training. Method: The prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Anaesthesia Department of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from December 2020 to June 2021, and comprised individuals of either gender receiving training for the Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. They were divided into two groups based on their length of training period. Group J included trainees before the IMM exam but only with 6-18 months of training, and Group S included trainees after the IMM exam with 30t-42 months of training. The Perceived Stress Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure stress and burnout. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. Results: Of the 99 subjects with mean age 27.81±2.50 years, 58(58.6%) were female and 41(41.4%) were male. There were 58(58.6%) subjects in Group J compared to 41(41.4%) in Group S. Of the total, 50(50.5%) subjects were associated with private-sector hospitals, while 49(49.5%) were working in the public sector. Overall stress was moderate 19.74±6.66 and burnout was in the low range 17.02±9.36. In Group J, 12(20.7%) subjects had high stress compared to 5(12.2%) in Group S. There was a significantly higher level of stress and burnout in those working in the private sector than those in the public sector (p=0.001). Conclusion: Stress and burnout were found to be highly-prevalent among anaesthesia trainees, particularly in the earlier stages of training. Key Words: Stress, Burnout, Anaesthesia trainee, FCPS.