System-Level Interventions for Addressing Burnout and Improving Professional Wellness for Orthopaedic Surgeons

Burnout is characterized by feelings of depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and low personal achievement, which adversely affects orthopaedic surgeons and their patients. Burnout is increasingly being recognized as a systemic problem, resulting from excessive workloads, administrative burdens, inadequate job resources, and lack of work-life balance. There is a growing movement to develop system-level strategies to address it. Here, we summarize evidence-based organizational strategies and approaches to assist institutions in addressing burnout in orthopaedic surgery, and we summarize key recommendations outlined in landmark burnout guidelines. Among the recommendations made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), we identified seven key themes in order to address burnout, which include: (1) recognizing the presence of burnout and investing in strategies to measure and address it; (2) harnessing leadership support and commitment; (3) establishing and sustaining a culture of wellness and support; (4) promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace; (5) securing access to mental healthcare and promoting individual resilience; (6) reducing workplace inefficiencies; and (7) enhancing orthopaedic surgeons' autonomy and control. Key Concepts • Burnout is a work-related syndrome characterized by depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and low personal achievement that negatively impacts orthopaedic surgeons and their patients. • Burnout is increasingly being recognized as a systemic problem, resulting from excessive workloads, administrative burdens, inadequate job resources, and lack of work-life balance, requiring system-level interventions. • System-level recommendations to address burnout have been made by researchers, national medical associations, community organizations, and landmark guidelines from the World Health Organization and the National Academy of Medicine. • It is imperative that institutions invest in system-level interventions to address burnout in order to improve the work environment of orthopaedic surgeons, offer greater professional satisfaction, and facilitate better patient outcomes.