Burnout and Quality of Life among Active Member Physicians of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County

Introduction. The medical literature suggests disturbingly high ratesof burnout among US physicians. The objective of this study was todetermine the rates of burnout, other forms of distress, and overallquality of life among physicians in Sedgwick County.Methods.xThe study involved a convenience sample of 197 physicianswho were active member physicians of the Medical Society of SedgwickCounty (MSSC). Between July and August 2018, we surveyed872 physicians who were active members of the MSSC. The surveyassessed manifestations of burnout, symptoms of depression and suicidalideation, fatigue, and quality of life. The authors used standarddescriptive summary statistics, Mann-Whitney U test/independentsamples t-Test, Fisher’s exact test, and correlations to analyze thedata.Results. The participation rate was 44.6%, with 49.5% of therespondents reporting manifestations of burnout. Although 85% ofthe participants rated their overall quality of life as good/very good,45% screened positive for depression, 5% had thoughts of suicideduring the past year, and 44% reported excessive fatigue during thepast week. Those with manifestations of burnout were 2.13 (100%vs 46.9%, p < 0.01) times more likely to report thoughts of suicidalideation, 2.43 (72.6% vs 30.4%; p < 0.001) times more likely to screenpositive for depression, and 1.89 (67.5% vs 35.8%; p < 0.001) timesmore likely to have high degrees of fatigue. All of the participants whohad suicidal ideation reported manifestations of burnout.Conclusions. Burnout was prevalent among active member physiciansof the MSSC. Burnout among the participants was associatedwith symptoms of depression, fatigue, suicidal ideation, and intentionof leaving the medical profession via early retirement and/or careerchange. Kans J Med 2019;12(2):33-39

Changes in Family Physicians’ Perceptions of Electronic Cigarettes in Tobacco Use Counseling Between 2016 and 2019: Changes in Family Physicians’ Perceptions of Electronic Cigarettes

Introduction: Given the recent reports of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) and harm of e-cigarettes, the authors evaluated changes in the perception of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools in 2019 relative to 2016. The authors also evaluated the sources family physicians most commonly use to receive information regarding e-cigarettes. Methods: Authors conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 248 community family physicians in Kansas from October to December 2019. The authors used a 11-item questionnaire to measure the participants’ perceptions of recommending e-cigarettes to patients for tobacco cessation. The authors used a mixed method approach to collect, analyze, and interpret the data. Standard descriptive statistics, Likelihood-Ratio/Fisher’s exact tests, and immersion-crystallization approached were used to analyze the data. Results: The response rate was 59.3% (147/248). Proportion of the family physicians who did not recommend e-cigarettes for smoking cessation was significantly higher in 2019 than in 2016 (86% vs 82%; χ2 [1, n = 261] = 12.31; P < .01). Several reasons regarding respondents’ perception of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools were reported. The medical literature and news media were the top sources where family physicians accessed e-cigarettes information. Conclusion: Our study has suggested that the majority of family physicians in our data do not currently recommend e-cigarettes for tobacco cessation. Opinions regarding the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes are influenced by information source. Future, larger studies would be beneficial to further determine physicians’ beliefs and practices regarding e-cigarettes as smoking cessation products