TY - JOUR
T1 - Burnout among intensivists and critical care fellows in South Korea
T2 - Current status and associated factors
AU - Lee, Song I.
AU - Kim, Won Young
AU - Kim, Duk Ki
AU - Suh, Gee Young
AU - Kim, Jeongmin
AU - Kim, Ha Yeon
AU - Choi, Nak Joon
AU - Jhang, Won Kyoung
AU - Kwak, Sang Hyun
AU - Hong, Sang Bum
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Lee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2025/2
Y1 - 2025/2
N2 - Burnout among critical care physicians is an important issue that affects patient care and staff well-being. This study, conducted by the Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine, aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of burnout among intensivists and critical care fellows in South Korea. From May to July 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 51 hospitals and 79 intensive care units offering subspecialty training in critical care medicine. Invitations were sent by email and text, and responses were collected using NownSurvey and Google Forms. Of the 502 invited participants, 253 responded (response rate: 50.4%). Significant contributing factors of burnout included being in an intensivist position (assistant professor/fellow) (odds ratio [OR], 3.916; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.485–10.327; p = 0.006), working in a medical ICU (OR, 4.557; 95% CI, 1.745–11.900; p = 0.002), the number of stay-home night calls per month (OR, 1.070; 95% CI, 1.005–1.139; p = 0.034), and recent conflicts with colleagues (OR, 5.344; 95% CI, 1.140–25.051; p = 0.033). Similar factors were found to influence severe levels of burnout. This nationwide study indicates that a significant proportion of critical care physicians in South Korea experience burnout. Strategies to reduce overtime and workplace conflict are imperative to reduce burnout among these physicians and protect their mental health. Future research should explore targeted interventions for these specific factors.
AB - Burnout among critical care physicians is an important issue that affects patient care and staff well-being. This study, conducted by the Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine, aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of burnout among intensivists and critical care fellows in South Korea. From May to July 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 51 hospitals and 79 intensive care units offering subspecialty training in critical care medicine. Invitations were sent by email and text, and responses were collected using NownSurvey and Google Forms. Of the 502 invited participants, 253 responded (response rate: 50.4%). Significant contributing factors of burnout included being in an intensivist position (assistant professor/fellow) (odds ratio [OR], 3.916; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.485–10.327; p = 0.006), working in a medical ICU (OR, 4.557; 95% CI, 1.745–11.900; p = 0.002), the number of stay-home night calls per month (OR, 1.070; 95% CI, 1.005–1.139; p = 0.034), and recent conflicts with colleagues (OR, 5.344; 95% CI, 1.140–25.051; p = 0.033). Similar factors were found to influence severe levels of burnout. This nationwide study indicates that a significant proportion of critical care physicians in South Korea experience burnout. Strategies to reduce overtime and workplace conflict are imperative to reduce burnout among these physicians and protect their mental health. Future research should explore targeted interventions for these specific factors.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85216990690
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0318495
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0318495
M3 - Article
C2 - 39903755
AN - SCOPUS:85216990690
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 20
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 2 February
M1 - e0318495
ER -