Physician burnout is slowly improving, but still remains stubbornly high, Medscape report finds

Roughly 47% of doctors recently surveyed by Medscape said they were experiencing burnout. This is lower than the 49% Medscape reported in a survey last year, but still higher than the 44% reported in 2019 before the pandemic. The current burnout rate of 47% means the health care system still has a lot of work to do to properly support its physicians, says Vania Manipod, DO, a psychiatrist and The DO’s Editor in Chief.

“Although institution-wide changes are mandatory in order to see a greater improvement in physician well-being, the lack of change has caused many physicians to be proactive to address their mental health, which may mean decreasing work hours or leaving their current job,” she says.

Medscape’s report, which examined various facets of physician mental health and well-being, also noted that 24% of respondents were experiencing depression and that that number has remained static since 2020.

On the flip side, three in four physicians surveyed said they believe happiness and balance are possible to achieve in medicine, and younger doctors were more likely to say their happiness had improved in the past three years.

To create the report, Medscape surveyed over 5,700 U.S. physicians of different ages across 29-plus specialties. Below are some additional highlights from the report.

• Millennial physicians were more likely than their older colleagues to say things improved with work-life balance (31% vs. 23%), family relationships (27% vs. 20%) and friendships (19% vs. 14 percent). The report noted that it is unclear whether Millennials have been able to achieve a better work-life balance or if they will struggle to find balance after more years in the profession.
• Around seven in 10 physicians stated that they see taking care of their own health and well-being as a “top priority” or “important.”
• Nearly nine in 10 physicians assigned a high level of importance to engaging in outside interests or hobbies that help them relax and support their overall mental well-being.
• Almost two out of three physicians surveyed said they would accept a pay cut in exchange for better work-life balance.
• More than eight in 10 physicians surveyed said their diet was “somewhat healthy” or better. In a recent article in The DO, Stephanie Lee, DO, MS, shares how she approached eating a vegetarian/vegan diet as a medical student and a resident.

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