BURNOUT AMONG CANADIAN PHYSICIANS

iii This study investigates the prevalence of burnout among Canadian physicians. The Boudreau Burnout Questionnaire (BBQ), distributed as part of the Canadian Medical Association Physician Resource Questionnaire (PRQ) 2003, was used to measure burnout levels, compared by gender, age, practice locale, and specialty. Using the Phase Model Approach (Golembiewski et al., 1986), 1870 physicians were categorized with respect to their HI or LO scores of emotional exhaustion, reduced personal achievement, and depersonalization. Overall, 45.7 % of Canadian physicians were in advanced phases of burnout (Phases VI, VII, & VIII). A higher percentage of female physicians (47.6%) than male physicians (44.6%) reported levels of advanced burnout. Age negatively correlated with burnout measures, yet age groups 35 – 44 and 45 – 54 showed over 50 % advanced burnout. Advanced burnout scores were almost identical across broad specialties. A slightly higher percentage of rural physicians (46.9%) than urban physicians (45.5%) reported levels of advanced burnout. These results indicate that burnout among Canadian physicians warrants attention. i