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Spain’s Medical Council Unveils ‘Ikerburn’ Report: Burnout Afflicts Majority of Young Doctors

A three-year study of 1,400 trainees ties punishing shifts to clinical burnout, prompting urgent calls for enforceable rest.

Overview

  • The OMC’s Ikerburn report finds over half meet full burnout criteria, with 79% reporting emotional exhaustion, 84% depersonalization, and 63% low personal accomplishment.
  • Consequences include one in four taking sick leave, two in three suffering insomnia, 38% using anxiolytics or alcohol, and 85% reporting reduced libido.
  • Structural drivers cited include 24-hour on-call shifts, lack of guaranteed rest after weekend duty for 43.6% of residents, heavy caseloads, and near‑universal temporary contracts that breach EU work‑time rules.
  • Prevalence spans all specialties and regions, rises in surgical and hospital settings, and is 24% higher among women.
  • Presented in the Senate, the report urges enforceable rest after shifts, fair workload and supervision, expansion of the Paime support program, wellbeing initiatives, and a national burnout observatory, with journal publication pending and broad government action yet to come.