Psychosocial and biological predictors of resident physician burnout.

Background: A high proportion of health professionals in training suffer from work-related stress and may develop a burnout syndrome.

Objectives: To study the incidence of burnout after the first year of residency in a teaching hospital and to identify baseline psychological, psychosocial work conditions, and biological risk factors.

Methodology: We assessed the following in a prospective cohort of residents at baseline (first month residence) and after 1 year: background factors (socio-demographics, psychiatric history), perceived stress score (Perceived Stress Scale), Maslach Burnout Inventory score, and psychosocial factors (Job Content Questionnaire).