LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Healthcare systems have been experiencing profound changes in recent years driven by technology, regulations, demographic and societal trends. This volatile and stressful environment has had its consequences for healthcare organizations and people who work for them. The resulting phenomena of burnout or lowered well-being may affect key aspects of health care delivery on individual, organizational and financial level. OBJECTIVES The objective of this paper was to investigate level of burnout and well-being in a group of Polish physicians, its impact on errors and associations with other factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS The cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire survey with 65 questions and validated tools such as Maslach Burnout Inventory and WHO-5 Well-being Index. Correlations between variables were investigated using Spearman's rank correlation analysis. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate predictors of burnout and errors. The study included residents and physicians of various specialties. RESULTS The total number of 125 residents and physicians, mostly internists and cardiologists, participated in the study out of which 67% were found to be burned-out. The average level of WHO-5 score was 40 points. Two thirds of all physicians admitted to making an error in the last three months which was strongly associated with burnout. CONCLUSIONS The level of burnout among respondents was high and had numerous negative consequences that may affect the entire healthcare system. The results suggest an urgent need to address the problem of burnout among physicians.