[Stressful situations and their effects among psychiatric residents].

Abstract

Background and purpose: Numerous studies in the international literature address workplace traumatic experiences affecting psychiatry residents and their impacts. No such survey has been conducted in Hungary so far, so I set as my goal to assess the occurrence of stressful situations affecting Hungarian psychiatry residents and their psychological consequences. Emphasizing the mental health of psychiatry residents and improving prevention in specialist training is an essential condition for training stable, well-prepared specialists.

Methods: A total of 80 psychiatry residents from the specialist training programs of the 4 Hungarian universities were included in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of 5 parts: occurrence of stressful situations; psychological reactions; Mini-Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (MOLBI); coping mechanisms; needs for specialist training development.

Results: Among stressful situations, verbal abuse and discriminatory remarks were the most common. Physical assault affected 34.6% of respondents, and patient suicide occurred in 34.5% of cases. Burnout criteria were met in 62.5% of residents. High scores were achieved on the MOLBI Disengagement subscale by 65% and on the Exhaustion subscale by 90%. Although burnout and disengagement levels were similar, the proportion of those with significant exhaustion was significantly higher in the Budapest sample compared to the national average (94.2% vs. 84.6%). For processing cases, young residents most commonly chose discussion with fellow residents. 100% of respondents supported the development of specialist training programs that would aid the professional processing of difficult situations.

Conclusion: The occurrence of stressful situations shows similar trends to international literature data. However, burnout and exhaustion levels are significantly higher, which may have several explanations. The two most important factors to build future development strategies around are more thorough preparation for difficult situations and the programmatic implementation of professional and regular case processing.