Acil Servis Asistanlarında Medikal Malpraktis Korkusu ve Defansif Tıp Uygulamalarının Mesleki Iyilik Hali Üzerine Etkisi: Bir Anket Çalışması

ABSTRACT

Aim: This study aimed to explore the relationship between the fear

of malpractice, defensive medicine practices, and professional

burnout among emergency medicine residents in Türkiye.

Material and Method: The study was designed as a prospective,

cross-sectional survey. Emergency medicine residents working in

Türkiye who had no ongoing or concluded legal malpractice cases

and had not received any psychiatric or psychological treatment

within the past year were evaluated. Participation was voluntary.

The participants were administered electronic surveys containing

sociodemographic information, the Malpractice Fear Scale, the

Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Defensive Medicine Behavior

Scale. The collected data were analyzed using IBM Statistical

Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 20.

Results: A total of 309 emergency medicine residents participated

in the study, and 40.1% were female. Of the participants, 60.8%

were in the 20–29 age group. The mean score on the Malpractice

Fear Scale was 25.35, indicating a high level of fear. Concerning

the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the scores for emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and personal accomplishment were 21.30 (moderate),

10.52 (moderate), and 12.95 (low), respectively. A positive

correlation was observed between MF, professional burnout, and

defensive medicine practices. However, there was a negative correlation

between defensive medicine tendencies and burnout levels

Conclusion: In current conditions, emergency medicine residents

are driven toward professional burnout due to the fear of malpractice;

however, they attempt to mitigate this burnout by adopting

defensive medicine practices.