What is it about?
The General Medical Council (GMC) surveys all doctors in training in the UK annually. An optional component of the survey is the work-related component of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The GMC shared the results of the CBI from the national surveys of 2019 and 2021 and categorised the responses according to the country of primary medical qualification. We compared burnout results of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) vs Domestic (UK) Medical Graduates (DMGs). The number of eligible doctors was over 56,000 in 2019 and over 61,000 in 2021. The response rates were 63% and 46% respectively. IMGs were at lower risk of burnout compared to DMGs, 43% vs 51% respectively in 2019, and 50% vs 57% respectively in 2021. Both results were highly statistically significant.
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Why is it important?
This is the first published national report on burnout in IMGs vs DMGs in any country, and the dataset we analysed was the largest in relation to the question of burnout between these two groups of doctors. Burnout is unlikely to be contributing to the lower educational attainment of IMGs compared to DMGs, and the higher rates of complaints made against IMGs compared to DMGs.
Perspectives
I found our results very interesting and, I have to admit, surprising. I had expected the reverse considering the amount of stress IMGs undergo, especially when they first land in the host country. It was a pleasure to work with my co-authors on this article. I hope readers find the results as interesting as we did.
Mo Al-Haddad
University of Glasgow
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Burnout in International Medical Graduate Trainees in the United Kingdom Compared to Domestic Medical Graduate Trainees. Analysis of Data from the GMC’s National Training Survey in 2019 and 2021, Perspectives on Medical Education, January 2023, Ubiquity Press, Ltd.,
DOI: 10.5334/pme.1036.
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