Half of NZ's orthopaedic registrars are burnt out

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-12-02 00:01

New Zealand

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Surveying shows around 50% of orthopaedic registrars are experiencing severe levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Orthopaedic staff deal with bone and muscle issues, for example sports injuries, arthritis, and hip replacement surgeries. The surveying also found that burnout was mitigated by having a senior colleague present, working in a fully-staffed department, and getting assistance like seeing a counsellor.

Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

Orthopaedic surgical training is a long and arduous commitment to both the trainee and their family that is ultimately necessary to create a competent surgeon that can fulfil the requirements necessary to treat the population of New Zealand to an acceptable standard of healthcare. Our study shows that approximately half of both trainee and non-trainee orthopaedic registrars are exhibiting signs of burnout. This is comparable to other developed nations with a similar healthcare system.

Journal/
conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: Waikato Hospital, Tauranga Hospital

Funder: The authors would like to thank STONZ for their research grant in helping to partly fund this project.

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