Burnout among physicians account for an increase in long-time sick leave. Prevention of this burnout necessitates identification of predictors related to the individual and to the job.

Prospective mailed survey of a nationwide cohort of all the physicians that graduated in Norway 1993/94 (N=631). Approached in their graduating semester (T1), at the end of internship (T2), four years later during postgraduate training (T3) and in established jobs in their 10th postgraduate year (T4). 262 (42%) responded at all four occasions. Personality was assessed at T1 and T2; contextual variables were assessed at T2, T3 and T4. The burnout dimension of emotional exhaustion was measured at T4.

Both individual factors (age, gender, personality), stress (perceived medical school stress at T1, emotional pressure at T3, work-home interface stress at T3) and contextual factors (working hours) were examined as contributors to the variance in burnout. There were no gender differences in burnout and no differences between house officers and other physicians. Further results will be presented at the conference.