Prevalence of the Occupational Burnout Syndrome in Residents of a Hospital in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

Objective: to determine the prevalence of the Occupational Burnout Syndrome (obs) in residents of a regional hospital of specialties. Methods: descriptive and cross-sectional study. Non-randomized sample by convenience. The study was carried out between June and October 2006; it included 72 residents from different specialties of the Regional Hospital no. 1 of Specialties of the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The sample included physicians of both genders who have at least six months of systematic health care work (direct and frequent contact with the patient and their family members). Results: 100% of the residents showed some degree of occupational burnout. It was found high levels of emotional exhaustion and impersonal treatment; the type of specialty did not influence the presence of the syndrome. Conclusions: the results of this study show high levels of the obs among the studied medical residents. It is recommended to carry out more studies to identify the factors associated with the presence of the syndrome.