Abstract
Introduction
Little is known regarding the rate of burnout, career satisfaction, and quality of life (QOL) among surgical oncologists compared with other surgical subspecialties.
Methods
The American College of Surgeons conducted a survey in 2008 involving 7,905 respondents, of whom 407 were surgical oncologists. Demographic variables, practice characteristics, career satisfaction, burnout, and quality of life (QOL) of surgical oncologists were compared with other surgical subspecialties using validated instruments.
Results
Surgical oncologists were younger (mean age 49.9 years), more likely to be female (26%), and had younger children than other surgical subspecialties. With respect to practice characteristics, surgical oncologists had been in practice fewer years and had fewer nights on call per week than other surgical disciplines but worked more hours (mean 62.6/week), were more likely to be in an academic practice (59.5%), were more likely to be paid on a salaried basis (68%), and had more time devoted to non-patient activities (e.g., research). Compared with surgeons from all other specialties, surgical oncologists had similar incidence of burnout (36%), suicide ideation (4.9%), and QOL, but lower incidence of depression (24%), and better indices of career satisfaction.
Conclusions
These data provide a frame of reference for valid comparisons of burnout, QOL, and career satisfaction indices for the surgical oncology community relative to all other surgical specialties. Surgical oncologists have higher career satisfaction and lower risk of depression than surgeons in other surgical disciplines but still experience high rates of burnout.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kuerer HM, Eberlein TJ, Pollock RE, et al. Career satisfaction, practice patterns and burnout among surgical oncologists: report on the quality of life of members of the society of surgical oncology. Ann Surg Oncol. 2007;14:3043–53.
Balch CM, Copeland E. Stress and burnout among surgical oncologists: a call for personal wellness and a supportive workplace environment. Ann Surg Oncol. 2007;14:3029–32.
Shanafelt TD, Balch CM, Bechamps GJ, et al. Burnout and career satisfaction among american surgeons. Ann Surg. 2009;250:463–71.
Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt T, Balch CM, et al. Relationship between work-home conflicts and burnout among American surgeons: a comparison by gender. Arch Surg. 2011 (in press).
Maslach C, Jackson S, Leiter M. Maslach burnout inventory manual. 3rd ed. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists; 1996.
Spitzer RL, Williams JB, Kroenke K, et al. Utility of a new procedure for diagnosing mental disorders in primary care. The PRIME-MD 1000 study. JAMA. 1994;272:1749–56.
Whooley MA, Avins AL, Miranda J, et al. Case-finding instruments for depression. two questions are as good as many. J Gen Intern Med. 1997;12:439–45.
Ware J, Jr, Kosinski M, Keller SD. A 12-item short-form health survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care. 1996;34:220–33.
Ware J, Jr, Kosinski M, Turner-Bowler D, et al. How to score version 2 of the SF-12 health survey. Lincoln, RI: Quality Metric Incorporated; 2002.
Leiter MP, Frank E, Matheson TJ. Demands, values, and burnout: relevance for physicians. Can Fam Physician. 2009;55:1224–5, 1225.e1–6.
Shanafelt TD, West CP, Sloan JA, et al. Career fit and burnout among academic faculty. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169:990–5.
Benson S, Sammour T, Neuhaus SJ, et al. Burnout in Australasian younger fellows. ANZ J Surg. 2009;79:590–7.
Balch CM, Freischlag JA, Shanafelt TD. Stress and burnout among surgeons: understanding and managing the syndrome and avoiding the adverse consequences. Arch Surg. 2009;144:371–6.
Shanafelt T, Balch CM, Dyrbye L, et al. Suicide ideation among American surgeons. Arch Surg. 2011 (in press).
Shanafelt TD, Balch CM, Bechamps G, et al. Burnout and medical errors among American surgeons. Ann Surg. 2009;251:995–1000.
Fahrenkopf AM, Sectish TC, Barger LK, et al. Rates of medication errors among depressed and burnt out residents: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008;336:488–91.
West CP, Huschka MM, Novotny PJ, et al. Association of perceived medical errors with resident distress and empathy: a prospective longitudinal study. JAMA. 2006;296:1071–8.
West CP, Tan AD, Habermann TM, et al. Association of resident fatigue and distress with perceived medical errors. JAMA. 2009;302:1294–300
Balch CM, Shanafelt TD, Dyrbye L, et al. Surgeon distress as calibrated by hours worked and nights on call. J Am Coll Surg. 2010. doi:10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2010.06.393.
Shanafelt TD, Sloan JA, Habermann TM. The well-being of physicians. Am J Med. 2003;114:513–9.
Shanafelt T, Chung H, White H, et al. Shaping your career to maximize personal satisfaction in the practice of oncology. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:4020–6.
Kuerer HM, Breslin T, Shanafelt TD, et al. Road map for maintaining career satisfaction and balance in surgical oncology. J Am Coll Surg. 2008;207:435–42.
Spickard A Jr, Gabbe SG, Christensen JF. Mid-career burnout in generalist and specialist physicians. JAMA. 2002;288:1447–50.
Shanafelt T. A career in surgical oncology: finding meaning, balance and personal satisfaction. Ann Surg Oncol. 2008;15:400–6.
Shanafelt TD. Enhancing meaning in work: a prescription for preventing physician burnout and promoting patient-centered care. JAMA. 2009;302:1338–40.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Balch, C.M., Shanafelt, T.D., Sloan, J. et al. Burnout and Career Satisfaction Among Surgical Oncologists Compared with Other Surgical Specialties. Ann Surg Oncol 18, 16–25 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-010-1369-5
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-010-1369-5