Professional Burnout and Coping Strategies Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residents in Nigerian Tertiary Hospitals

Professional burnout is increasingly recognized as a significant occupational health concern among surgical trainees, with implications for individual wellbeing, patient safety, and training program attrition. Nigerian oral and maxillofacial surgery residents face compounding stressors including high clinical workload, examination pressure, resource limitations, and poor institutional welfare support. This cross-sectional study assesses the prevalence of burnout and coping strategies among resident doctors in oral and maxillofacial surgery training programs across teaching hospitals in the North Central, South East, and South West geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) was administered to 82 residents, and coping mechanisms were explored using the Brief COPE scale. Results indicate that 61% of residents screened positive for high emotional exhaustion, 54% for high depersonalization, and 41% for low personal accomplishment, meeting criteria for moderate to severe burnout. Common coping strategies included venting to colleagues, religious activity, and use of humor, while fewer than 20% utilized formal psychological support services. Female residents reported higher emotional exhaustion scores. Systemic factors such as unscheduled emergency call frequency and inadequate postoperative supervision were most strongly associated with burnout severity. The study recommends the institutionalization of mentorship programs, protected study leave, peer support groups, and structured wellbeing curricula for surgical residency programs in Nigeria. Keywords: burnout, surgical residents, oral surgery, coping, Nigeria.