Junior doctors in their first year: mental health, quality of life, burnout and heart rate variability
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Short Communication
Doctors
Mental health
Heart rate variability
3. Good health
DOI:
10.1007/s40037-013-0075-y
Publication Date:
2013-08-08T08:42:56Z
AUTHORS (7)
ABSTRACT
There is a burgeoning interest in, and evidence of, quality of life and burnout
issues among doctors. It was hypothesized that the junior doctors in this study would
experience psychosocial and physiological changes over time, and that the obtained
measures would indicate psychosocial and physiological anomalies. In addition, it was
hypothesized that their psychosocial perceptions would be significantly associated with
their physiological measures. A total sample of 17 junior doctors in their first year of
training volunteered for this study. Over four time periods separated by 6 week phases,
the doctors completed a set of quality of life and psychosocial inventories and wore a
Polar RS800 Heart Rate Monitor over a day and night time interval. The findings showed
that this sample of doctors did not report any problems associated with depression,
anxiety, stress, burnout or quality of life (psychosocial measures). In addition, their
heart rate variability scores (physiological measures) did not show any significant
fluctuations. Furthermore, the responses from the self-report instruments measuring
stress, anxiety, depression, quality of life and burnout did not consistently correlate
with the HRV information suggesting a mind–body disconnection. More work needs to be
done on larger samples to investigate these findings further given that the literature
shows that junior doctors are likely to be stressed and working in stress-provoking
environments.
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