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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Academic Ophthalmology 2023; 15(01): e11-e15
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1758566
Research Article

Job Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Burnout among Ophthalmology Educators

Karissa N. Sealey 
1   Department of Graduate Medical Education, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Consortium, Fort Sam, Houston, Texas
,
Stephen A. Blatt
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois
,
Gary L. Legault
3   Department of Ophthalmology, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
,
Kyle J. Godfrey
4   Department of Ophthalmology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY; Department of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
,
Misha F. Syed
5   Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Medical Branch - Galveston, Galveston, Texas
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Abstract

Purpose This article assesses the prevalence of burnout among ophthalmology educators and identifies opportunities to improve well-being in this population.

Methods The research team conducted a cross-sectional study using an institutional review board-exempt survey addressing the domains of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, intent to leave, and interest in wellness activities. Survey participants included ophthalmology residency program directors (PDs) and associate PDs (APDs) who are members of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO). Analysis involved a top-box approach.

Results Surveys were sent to 175 members with a response rate of 38.9%. Percentages of survey respondents reporting either (1) “never” or (2) “less than a few times per year” when asked to self-assess for certain manifestations of burnout are as follows: “considering residents as impersonal objects” (95.2%), “becoming more callous towards people” (90.3%), and “becoming emotionally hardened” (80.6%). Approximately 65% of ophthalmology educators reported never considering or rarely considering leaving their position in the year prior to completing the survey. For wellness promotion among AUPO educators, the greatest interest was in small group mentoring sessions (85%) and webinars on wellness-related topics (70%).

Conclusion The prevalence of burnout symptoms among ophthalmology educators compares favorably to educators from other specialties. Ophthalmology PDs and APDs demonstrate a greater degree of personal accomplishment than do their cohorts within other specialties, suggesting a decreased likelihood of burnout onset among ophthalmology educators. Furthermore, our study's job satisfaction data reveal a high degree of satisfaction among ophthalmology PDs and APDs.

Keywords

ophthalmology educators - burnout - wellness - survey study

Other Disclosures

None.




Publication History

Received: 20 April 2022

Accepted: 27 September 2022

Article published online:
17 January 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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