Why do most radiology residents experience burnout? How can stakeholders fix it?
Burnout among radiology residents is among the highest compared to other medical subspecialties, with 85 percent of trainees feeling emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and decrease feelings of personal accomplishment. Dexter Mendoza, MD, and Frederic Bertino, MD, of the department of radiology and imaging at Emory University in Atlanta, may have ways to combat it.
Detailed in an editorial published Sept. 19 in Academic Radiology, many radiology stakeholders and department leaders recognize burnout among radiology trainees as an important issue.
“We need to build on this momentum to effect change,” the authors wrote. “We ask that radiology leadership, faculty, and trainees begin a dialogue and work together and make steps toward ensuring the well-being of our practice, of its practitioners and of the trainees.”
Several factors contribute to radiology resident burnout, including counterproductive administrative tasks such as procedure logs and training modules, continuous and long clinical shifts, demanding call schedules, technical issues and lack of feedback and social interactions, according to the authors.
“While learning to be efficient is an important part of training, at times, it may feel that production takes priority over our education,” the authors wrote. “At times, we feel more like transcriptionists rather than physicians—another ‘cog in the wheel’.”
Additionally, residents may have an increased chance of being perceived as inexperienced by senior colleagues. Outside research and activities required among residents show make burnout may be “inherently contagious," the authors noted.
To reduce residency it, the authors suggest radiology programs should implement the following:
- Prioritize resident health and wellness by creating an inclusive program that focuses on physical activity, stress management and diet.
- Prioritize mental health through establishing and recommend counseling and support services for employees.
- Facilitate efficiency by investing in informatics, artificial intelligence and a technology support team.
- Build on residents’ competence and confidence through regularly administered constructive feedback.
- Empower and promote the autonomy of residents by decreasing levels of supervision for trainees.
- Help residents discover and realize their passions through efforts to optimize career fit and promote professional and personal satisfaction.
- Recognize and celebrate success.
- Celebrate diversity, promote inclusion and foster a sense of community among the residents inside and outside their training program.
- Increase open communication and transparency to empower residents to seek change and solutions that can improve the program and radiology department.
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.