BACKGROUND:

Depression in medical specialty residents is an important problem facing educational and healthcare institutions. Burnout syndrome is characterized by the triad of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a feeling of reduced personal accomplishment.

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the prevalence of depression and burnout syndrome in urology residents at a tertiary care hospital center.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

An observational and descriptive study was conducted through the application of self-assessment questionnaires to all Urology Service residents at the Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”. The MBI-HSS scale was used to identify cases of burnout syndrome and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for depression. The results were entered into a database and statistically analyzed through frequencies and means with the SPSS v19 program.

RESULTS:

Fifty-four questionnaires were applied: 27 MBI-HSS and 27 BDI in 27 first to fourth-year residents. The BDI results showed a 33% overall prevalence of depression, with 22% of the cases classified as mild and 11.1% as moderate. The MBI-HSS results identified 11 (40.7%) residents with the criteria for diagnosing burnout syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS:

Exploratory studies on urology residents are needed to identify the symptoms of depression and burnout syndrome to establish opportune treatment and prevent their progression.