Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement

Objectives Chinese neurosurgery has made great progress during the past decades; yet, little is known about the working status of neurosurgeons. This study aimed to evaluate the difference between academic and non-academic neurosurgeons, focusing on their professional burnout, job satisfaction and w...

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Main Authors: Jinli Yu, Jiming Gao, Junyan Chen, Yirui Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2019-10-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e028309.full
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author Jinli Yu
Jiming Gao
Junyan Chen
Yirui Sun
author_facet Jinli Yu
Jiming Gao
Junyan Chen
Yirui Sun
author_sort Jinli Yu
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Chinese neurosurgery has made great progress during the past decades; yet, little is known about the working status of neurosurgeons. This study aimed to evaluate the difference between academic and non-academic neurosurgeons, focusing on their professional burnout, job satisfaction and work engagement.Design Cross-sectional nationwide survey.Study setting The survey was conducted in China between 2017 and 2018.Participants A total number of 823 academic neurosurgeons and 379 non-academic neurosurgeons participated in this study.Outcome measures Professional burnout, job satisfaction and work engagement were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Job Descriptive Index and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, respectively.Results The majority of respondents were male (92.93%), less than 45 years old (85.27%) and married (79.53%). Chinese neurosurgeons worked 63.91±11.04 hours per week, and approximately 45% experienced burnout. Compared with non-academic respondents, academic neurosurgeons had longer working hours (p<0.01), higher income (p<0.01) and were less willing to get married (p<0.01). In addition, they showed a lower degree of burnout (p<0.01), a higher level of job satisfaction (p<0.01) and were more enthusiastic at work (p=0.015). Multivariate regression analyses indicated that divorced (OR 7.02, 95% CI 2.37 to 15.08) and workplace violence (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.24) were associated with burnout for both academic and non-academic respondents. Long working hours (≥71 hours per week) and low annual income (<1 00 000 RMB) were risk factors for burnout among academic neurosurgeons. For non-academic neurosurgical surgeons (age 36–45 years), working as attending doctors, serving in public hospitals and having the first house-living child were all closely related to the incidence of burnout.Conclusion Chinese neurosurgeons are under significant stress particularly for the non-academic neurosurgeons. Offering better opportunities for training, promotion, higher income and safer working environments could be solutions to relieve burnout and improve career satisfaction and engagement.Trial registration number ChiCTR1800014762. This article is not linked to a clinical trial.
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spelling doaj-art-2d3f742a75b8421cb44f8f5f2f79e7e72025-08-20T01:55:39ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552019-10-0191010.1136/bmjopen-2018-028309Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagementJinli Yu0Jiming Gao1Junyan Chen2Yirui Sun31 Department of International Education and Cooperation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China3 Department of Medical Education, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China4 The Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Business Division, East China Institute of Telecommunications, Shanghai, China5 Department of Neurosurgery, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaObjectives Chinese neurosurgery has made great progress during the past decades; yet, little is known about the working status of neurosurgeons. This study aimed to evaluate the difference between academic and non-academic neurosurgeons, focusing on their professional burnout, job satisfaction and work engagement.Design Cross-sectional nationwide survey.Study setting The survey was conducted in China between 2017 and 2018.Participants A total number of 823 academic neurosurgeons and 379 non-academic neurosurgeons participated in this study.Outcome measures Professional burnout, job satisfaction and work engagement were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Job Descriptive Index and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, respectively.Results The majority of respondents were male (92.93%), less than 45 years old (85.27%) and married (79.53%). Chinese neurosurgeons worked 63.91±11.04 hours per week, and approximately 45% experienced burnout. Compared with non-academic respondents, academic neurosurgeons had longer working hours (p<0.01), higher income (p<0.01) and were less willing to get married (p<0.01). In addition, they showed a lower degree of burnout (p<0.01), a higher level of job satisfaction (p<0.01) and were more enthusiastic at work (p=0.015). Multivariate regression analyses indicated that divorced (OR 7.02, 95% CI 2.37 to 15.08) and workplace violence (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.24) were associated with burnout for both academic and non-academic respondents. Long working hours (≥71 hours per week) and low annual income (<1 00 000 RMB) were risk factors for burnout among academic neurosurgeons. For non-academic neurosurgical surgeons (age 36–45 years), working as attending doctors, serving in public hospitals and having the first house-living child were all closely related to the incidence of burnout.Conclusion Chinese neurosurgeons are under significant stress particularly for the non-academic neurosurgeons. Offering better opportunities for training, promotion, higher income and safer working environments could be solutions to relieve burnout and improve career satisfaction and engagement.Trial registration number ChiCTR1800014762. This article is not linked to a clinical trial.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e028309.full
spellingShingle Jinli Yu
Jiming Gao
Junyan Chen
Yirui Sun
Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
BMJ Open
title Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
title_full Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
title_fullStr Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
title_full_unstemmed Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
title_short Academic versus non-academic neurosurgeons in China: a national cross-sectional study on workload, burnout and engagement
title_sort academic versus non academic neurosurgeons in china a national cross sectional study on workload burnout and engagement
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e028309.full
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