Burnout and quality of life among orthopaedic trainees in a modern educational programme

We aimed to determine quality of life and burnout among Dutch orthopaedic trainees following a modern orthopaedic curriculum, with strict compliance to a 48-hour working week. We also evaluated the effect of the clinical climate of learning on their emotional wellbeing.We assessed burnout, quality of life and the clinical climate of learning in 105 orthopaedic trainees using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, linear analogue scale self-assessments, and Dutch Residency Educational Climate Test (D-RECT), respectively.A total of 19 trainees (18%) had poor quality of life and 49 (47%) were dissatisfied with the balance between their personal and professional life. Some symptoms of burnout were found in 29 trainees (28%). Higher D-RECT scores (indicating a better climate of learning) were associated with a better quality of life (r = 0.31, p = 0.001), more work-life balance satisfaction (r = 0.31, p = 0.002), fewer symptoms of emotional exhaustion (r = -0.21, p = 0.028) and depersonalisation (r = -0,28, p = 0.04).A reduced quality of life with evidence of burnout were still seen in a significant proportion of orthopaedic trainees despite following a modern curriculum with strict compliance to a 48-hour working week. It is vital that further work is undertaken to improve the quality of life and reduce burnout in this cohort.