Medical registrars at the University of the Free State: Burnout, resilience and coping strategies

Abstract

Background: Burnout among doctors has been linked with decreased quality of patient care. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)  pandemic highlighted the need to protect doctors’ mental health and well-being. This study aimed to investigate burnout, resilience and  coping strategies among registrars in the MMed programme of the University of the Free State (UFS) in 2020.
Methods: In this quantitative, cross-sectional study, a link to an online anonymous selfadministered questionnaire with socio- demographic questions, perceived stress, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Brief Cope was  emailed to all 278 registrars.
Results: Sixty registrars responded (response rate 21.6%). More than half (55.0%) were male and 73.3% were married. There were 28.3%  second- and third-year students, respectively. Most (58.3%) had 5–10 years’ work experience. The CBI personal scale had the highest  median value (58.3; interquartile range [IQR]: 43.3; 70.8) with 70% scoring ≥ 50. The median score for resilience was 78 of 100 (IQR: 69;  84). There were weak negative correlations between resilience and burnout scores (r = –0.31 to r = –0.37). Planning, positive reframing  and acceptance were the most frequently used adaptive coping mechanisms; self-distraction was the most frequently used maladaptive  coping mechanism. There was no association between gender and burnout and resilience scores.
Conclusion: Registrars were resilient with low levels of patient- and work-related burnout, and higher personal burnout, using mostly  positive coping strategies.

Contribution: This study gives insight into the well-being of registrars at the UFS during COVID-19. Continuous monitoring and support  for this population are essential to foster mental health and well-being.