Introduction.

Burnout syndrome includes a state of physical and mental exhaustion related to work activities. Medical residency trainees, especially surgical specialties, may experience adverse mental health and job performance, with a high prevalence of the syndrome. This work aims to compare the published results of the national and international prevalence of professional burnout in surgical residents, with those obtained in the present study.

Methods.

A national survey about burnout was carried out in general surgery residents in the twenty active general surgery programs in Colombia, during the period from June to July 2020 through an anonymous online survey. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI) questionnaire. Total scores were calculated for the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment subscales, as well as the frequency of the syndrome according to demographic variables.

Results.

302 residents participated in the study; 20.2% presented BS, 43.7% presented emotional exhaustion, 23.2% depersonalization and 45% low personal fulfillment. When comparing the group with attrition versus the group without attrition, no statistically significant differences were found in any of the demographic variables.

Conclusions.

The percentage of burnout among general surgery residents, although lower than that found in other national or international studies, is worrisome. Given the possible impact of this on medical practice and patient outcomes, it is necessary to continue describing the appearance of the syndrome in trainees, understand its development and thus create specific interventions to control it.

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