Burnout syndrome in physicians: a systematic review

Abstract Introduction: physicians are highly vulnerable to Burnout Syndrome (BS) because they deal with stressors throughout their professional lives. Objective: to identify the frequency of BS in different medical specialties and its possible associated factors. Methods: systematic review according to the PRISMA statement, using LILACS, MEDLINE, PubMed and SciELO databases, and selecting studies that use the Maslach Burnout Inventory to identify and quantify the syndrome. Results: 22 medical specialties were identified as related to BS. The five specialties with the highest prevalence of BS cases were, in decreasing order: intensive care unit medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, internal medicine and orthopedics. Discussion: the syndrome etiology is multifactorial. There are factors associated with BS that contribute to the onset of the syndrome and others that may prevent its outcome. Factors that are common to medical practice and others associated with medical specialties were identified. The main factors associated with BS are those related to work organization and environment and the way physicians cope with stress.