Prevalence of Burnout in International Breast Radiologists

Our recently published survey of actively practicing members of the Society of Breast Imaging demonstrated that an alarming 78.4% of physicians are highly burned out in at least one dimension of burnout, as measured by the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (1). The cohort that was specifically analyzed was practicing breast radiologists within the United States. This is significant, as physician burnout has been associated with multiple adverse outcomes affecting the physician, the workplace, and patients, with an associated increased rate of medical errors (2).

The initial survey was also sent to 144 internationally practicing breast radiologists: 51 international radiologists opened the email, and 16 (11.1%) responded to this survey, including 7 from Canada, 5 from Latin America, and 4 from Asia. Of the responding international breast radiologists, 13 (81.3%) were highly burned out in at least 1 dimension. There was no significant difference (P-value > 0.99 [using Fisher’s exact test]) between burnout in U.S. breast radiologists and the international respondents. While the sample size is a significant limitation, and thus these data were not included in the initial analysis, the data suggest that burnout in breast radiologists is not confined to the United States.

Breast imaging has unique stressors compared to other areas of radiology, including having to perform mandated accreditation responsibilities, having to communicate the need for biopsies to patients, and even having to communicate diagnoses of cancer to patients (in some practice settings) (3). These stressors are not limited by the borders of the United States. While a recent study does demonstrate physician burnout amongst radiologists in Canada (4), to date, we are not aware of any specific study that has investigated physician burnout amongst practicing clinical breast radiologists outside of the United States. Further research within the international breast imaging community is encouraged to investigate the prevalence of physician burnout in our specialty because of its potentially far-reaching consequences.

Funding

None declared.

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

References