SynthesisAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2025
A systematic review of the prevalence of burnout in orthopaedic surgeons.
Synthesis in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Single- versus dual-surgeon outcomes in adult and pediatric spinal deformity patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.Spine deformity · 2026Pooled it
- Surgeon well-being: a systematic review of stressors, mental health, and resilience.BMC surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Burnout Dimensions and Associated Factors Among Orthopedic and Traumatology Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Study from Türkiye.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Artificial Intelligence Scribes in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Narrative Review.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2026Review
- The Healer's Wound: Personal Injury, Identity, and Ethical Responsibility in Orthopedic Surgery.Cureus · 2026Review
- Beyond the Operating Room: Determinants of Burnout and Resilience among Metabolic Bariatric Surgeons Worldwide.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Reduced workload demand with handheld robotic-assisted revision knee arthroplasty: A multi-centre NASA Task Load Index analysis.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2026Article
- On theAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2026Article
- Analyzing Global Research Trends on Medical Resident Burnout and Physical Activity: A Bibliometric Analysis (2005-2025).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Burnout among Orthopedic Residents.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2025Article
- Is there an elephant in the Room? Burnout in orthopaedic training: A scoping review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and trauma · 2025Article
- New Perspectives on Burnout and on Assessing the Reputation of Orthopedic Surgeons.HSS journal : the musculoskeletal journal of Hospital for Special Surgery · 2025Article
- Development of a Brief, Positively Framed Care Team Experience Measure.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2025Article
- Burnout among trauma surgeons: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2025Article
- "It's no use going back to yesterday".Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionProfessional burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and low sense of personal achievement related to the workplace. Orthopaedic surgeons train and practise in highly demanding environments. Understanding up-to-date trends in burnout, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, is vital. For this reason, we carried out a systematic review on this topic.
methodsA scoping literature review of two databases was conducted. Two authors independently screened articles and conflicts were resolved by panel discussion. Articles pertaining to orthopaedic surgeons that used validated scales and were peer reviewed research were included. Non-English or abstract-only results were excluded.
resultsA total of 664 papers were identified in the literature search and 34 were included in the qualitative review. Among 8,471 orthopaedic surgeons, the mean burnout prevalence was 48.9%. The wide range in rate of burnout between the studies (15-90.4%) reflected the variety in setting, subspecialty and surgeon grade. Common protective factors comprised dedicated mentorship, surgeon seniority, sufficient exercise and family support. Substance abuse, malpractice claims, financial stress and onerous on-call responsibilities were risk factors. Burnout prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic was not noticeably different; there were a number of pandemic-associated risk and protective factors.
conclusionsNearly one in two orthopaedic surgeons are burnt out. There is a paucity of data on the short and long-term impact of COVID-19 on burnout. Burnout has deep organisational, personal and clinical implications. Targeted organisational interventions are required to prevent burnout from irrevocably damaging the future of orthopaedic surgery.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.