eP713 - The Painful Side of Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study on Surgeon Burnout and Pain

Purpose/Background: There have been increasing efforts to shed light on surgeons' quality of life and professional performance, as well as increasing efforts to find ways to ease this burden. This study aims to report the current state of surgeon burnout and chronic pain as well as possible contributing risk factors using validated questionnaires.Methods/Interventions: Surgeons from various specialties within our hospital system were invited to participate in the online survey. This survey translated all questions from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) into an anonymous, closed-ended question survey. The CBI assesses three dimensions of burnout: personal burnout, work-related burnout, and client-related burnout which gives insight into the specific sources of burnout experienced by surgeons. Any category with a score of ≥50 is considered a positive screening (range 0-100). The NMQ focuses on prevalence and location of pain, providing a way to assess how musculoskeletal pain and discomfort influence surgeon well-being and performance. For questions where multiple answers may apply, the option was given to select all that apply. Gender, time in practice, subspecialty, use of the different surgical modalities (open, laparoscopic, or robotic), and glove size were also collected. Descriptive statistics were performed.Results/Outcomes: 57 survey responses are included in the analysis. The average score for burnout was 37.04 (global average 33-37), with females having significantly higher scores than males at 46.1 ± 14.8 and 28.9 ± 17.0 respectively (p= < 0.01). The percentage of employees who screened positive for personal, work-related, and client-related burn out were 42%, 37%, and 14% respectively. Pain in the last 12 months was reported by 86% of respondents, of which 16% missed work due to pain during that time.Conclusion/

Discussion: Surgeons demonstrate an average to high level of burnout with a female preponderance. More specifically, surgeons tend to score higher than the reported average on personal burnout (42% vs 36%) but lower in client-related burnout (14% vs 31%). Pain is also a common experience, yet few surgeons report missing work for occupational pain. By combining data from the CBI and NPQ, this study highlights the interplay between burnout and pain among surgeons. Understanding these dynamics can inform strategies for prevention or mitigation of pain and burnout.