Stress and burnout in junior doctors.

Questionnaires were sent to doctors who had graduated 2 1/2 years previously from two English-medium universities in South Africa. Findings showed that 77.8% of doctors had experienced symptoms consistent with burnout since graduating. Incidence of burnout was found to be related to an inability to communicate freely with patients in their own language. Although those doctors who saw more than forty patients a day reported more burnout, the difference was not statistically significant. The highest incidence of burnout was among doctors working in day hospitals and clinics, followed by those in hospital posts. Doctors working in their own practices experienced least burnout. Sixty-three per cent of doctors felt that a support group would be helpful.