Registrar wellness in Botswana: Measuring burnout and identifying ways to improve wellness

• DOI: 10.7196/ajhpe.2017.v9i3.881
• Publication Date: 2018-07-13T13:02:12Z
• Authors: K D Westmoreland; E D Lowenthal; R Finalle; L Mazhani; M Cox; J C Mwita; S B Mphele; C E Turner; A P Steenhoff
• Keywords: Medicine (General); 03 medical and health sciences; R5-920; 0302 clinical medicine; R; Medicine; Education (General); L7-991; L; Education; 3. Good health

Background. Burnout during registrar training is high, especially in resource-limited settings where stressors are intensified. leads to decreased quality of life for doctors, poor job and patient satisfaction, difficulty retaining doctors. Objectives. Primary: measure burnout among registrars working at Princess Marina Hospital Gaborone, Botswana. Secondary: determine factors contributing identify potential wellness interventions. Methods. The validated Maslach Inventory was used the degree emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation personal accomplishment. Work-related difficulties interventions were explored through multiple-choice open-ended questions. Results. Of 40 eligible registrars, 20 (50%) completed survey. High levels reported exhaustion 65% (13/20), 45% (9/20), accomplishment 35% (7/20) registrars. A high by 75% (15/20) one or more domains. In previous 7 days, worked an average 77 hours, took 1.5 overnight calls, slept 5.7 hours per night, 53% (10/19) had ≥1 their patients die. Five (25%) considered leaving Botswana work another country, which correlated with those highest burnout. most common frustrations included insufficient salary limited medical resources. Suggested improved mentorship lectures. Conclusions. There a burnout, Encouragingly, have desire after training. Future research on improving low-resource urgently needed.