This study establishes the incidence of burnout in residents of a public hospital using the MBI (Malasch Burnout Inventory). Burnout is a persistent and negative, work-related state of mind affecting "normal" individuals, primarily characterized by exhaustion and distress, a sense of reduced effectiveness, decreased motivation and the development of dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors at work (Schaufelli & Buunk¹). One hundred and twenty residents, developing their activities in a public hospital were investigated. The main results indicate an incidence of in 20.8 % of burnout in the sample. The presence of the syndrome was characterized by 65.0% of high rating in the dimension emotional exhaustion (EE), 61.7% of high rating in the dimension depersonalization (cynicism or distant attitude) (DP) and 30.0% of low rating in the dimension professional accomplishment (PA). Burnout was present in 78.4% and absent in 0.8% of the sample. A higher frequency of cases was observed in the specialty Orthopedics, followed by Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics respectively. It is necessary to set some burnout prevention programs in order to avoid that professionals in charge of promoting health get sick. It is also necessary to continue this kind of research for developing more complex models for the understanding of burnout in this specific work context.
Burnout, Professional; Occupational Health; Physicians
