Incidence and Factors Associated with Burnout in Anesthesiology: A Systematic Review

The bottom line

High burnout among anesthesiologists appears consistently across career stages and institution types, so no practice setting should assume it is protected. Leaders should plan for burnout as a baseline workforce risk everywhere rather than a problem confined to certain hospitals. Wide variation in how the underlying surveys measured burnout means the exact prevalence figure matters less than the consistency of the pattern.

What the source found

Systematic review of 15 surveys/studies confirming high, consistent burnout prevalence among anesthesiologists across career stages; no clear relationship found between burnout and institution type; prevalence ranged 25–70%; emotional exhaustion most elevated subscale.

Limitations and applicability

Heterogeneous instruments and cutoffs across included studies; most included studies were cross-sectional; limited CRNA/non-physician data.

Population and setting

Anesthesiologists (international, multiple studies)

Used in FairShare guides

• Anesthesia Burnout Runs on Six Drivers — and Workload Is Only One of Them
• Understanding Anesthesia Burnout

About this evidence

Research question / practical issue

How does this source inform Understanding Anesthesia Burnout for the population it studied?

Study design, evidence tier, and source class

Peer Reviewed Systematic Review · synthesis source · evidence tier 1

Source type: Peer Reviewed Systematic Review · synthesis · Evidence tier 1

Topics: Understanding Anesthesia Burnout

Audience: Anesthesiologists