A study recently published in the Indian Journal of Community Medicine has found that six out of 10 resident doctors suffer from work-related physical and mental exhaustionat city’s four major municipal hospitals that are attached to medical colleges.

The authors of the study that was published in the second week of November, are Dr Archana Hemant Dhusia, Dr Prita Abhay Dhaimade, Dr Apurva Ambuj Jain, Dr Samar Salim Shemna and Dr Prerana Nirmal Dubey and are senior resident doctors. For the study, they had interviewed 300 resident doctors at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion; Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital, Vile Parle; BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai Central; and King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Parel.

Postgraduate students work for 12 hours daily which leads to physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Of those who were interviewed, 56% of resident doctors suffer from patient-related burnout syndrome, which is a combination of physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion impacting the doctors’ working efficiency.

As per National Health Profile 2018, the ratio of doctors to patients is around 1:11,082 in India. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a ratio of 1:1000.

Dr Sagar Mundada, a psychiatrist and former president of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) said that due to a shortage of doctors and overload of patients, residents have to work long hours in hospitals. Also, they have academic pressures.

Of the total number of respondents, 66.67% said that their personal relationships were stressed because of work pressure and 57.14% said their stress levels had affected their work.

While, 16.67% admitted to “patient-related burnout” – attributed to various factors which includes frustration that they could not provide adequate care to patients. The survey found highest levels of exhaustion among doctors attending to wards and the OPD. The report also stated that while residents cater to extensive daily outpatient department of patients showed higher client-related burnout, it was less prominent among residents working in surgical and ICU settings.

Female respondents reported a higher levels of exhaustion than their male counterparts, which the study said was due to women facing “higher domestic expectations and responsibilities”. 50% of the respondents felt that they did not have enough energy for their family or to socialize and over 57% respondents felt that they gave more than they got back from patients.

MARD president and resident doctor Dr Kalyani Dongre said that most doctors stay away from home and don’t have any personal or social life. Other than physical adversities like hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, lack of energy, they also suffer from emotional distress like anxiety, depression.

The study advocates counselling and stress management techniques for doctors to help them attain a work-life balance. In 2016, the Maharashtra University of Health Science (MUHS) issued a circular to all medical colleges to hold mental check-ups for resident doctors, but it has not been implemented yet. Dr Prakash S Borane, president of IMA, Mumbai, said that the hostel conditions are terrible and there is no proper security. Many a times, doctors are beaten up by patients’ relatives. Residents have also asked for the need of better living conditions in hostels and improved security, which have been seconded by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Source: Hindustan Times