Key points What is the burnout rate among American doctors over the past five years? Findings In this survey study involving 1,373 physicians and 3 survey periods, significantly higher burnout rates were found among female physicians compared to their male counterparts, primary care physicians compared to physicians of other specialties, and male physicians. with 10 years of experience or less compared to those with more experience. Meaning The findings of this study suggest that this pattern of burnout is a potential threat to the US healthcare system’s ability to care for patients and therefore needs immediate solutions. |
Importance
Physician burnout is widely reported to be a growing problem in the US. Although previous analyzes suggest that physician burnout is increasing nationally, these analyzes have substantial limitations, including the entry and exit of different physicians from clinical practice.
Aim
To examine the prevalence of burnout among physicians in a large multispecialty group over a 5-year period.
Design, environment and participants
This survey study was conducted in 2017, 2019, and 2021 and involved physician faculty members from the Massachusetts General Practitioners Organization. Participants represented different clinical specialties and a wide range of career stages. The online survey instrument had 4 domains: medical career and salary satisfaction, physician well-being, physician administrative workload, and leadership and diversity.
Main results and measures
Physician burnout, which was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory . A binary measure of burnout was used, defining burnout as a high score on 2 of the 3 burnout subscales: exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced self-efficacy.
Results
A total of 1,373 physicians (72.9% of the original 2017 cohort) participated in the 3 surveys. The cohort included 690 (50.3%) men, 921 (67.1%) whites, and 1189 (86.6%) non-Hispanic individuals. Response rates were 93.0% in 2017, 93.0% in 2019, and 92.0% in 2021.
In terms of years of experience, the cohort was relatively well distributed, with the largest number and proportion of physicians (478 [34.8%]) reporting between 11 and 20 years of experience. Within this group, burnout decreased from 44.4% (610 physicians) in 2017 to 41.9% (575) in 2019 (p = 0.18) before increasing to 50.4% (692) in 2021 ( p < 0.001).
Conclusions and relevance
The findings of this survey study suggest that the rate of physician burnout in the US is increasing. This pattern represents a potential threat to the American healthcare system’s ability to care for patients and needs urgent solutions.
Comments
The burnout rate for physicians in the United States is increasing, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open .
Burnout is higher in women, primary care physicians, and physicians with ≤10 years of experience.
Marcus V. Ortega, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the prevalence of burnout among physicians in a large multispecialty group over a five-year period. The analysis included 1,373 Massachusetts General Practitioners Organization physician faculty members surveyed in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Different clinical specialties and a full range of career stages were represented in the physician group.
The researchers found that 50.3 percent of respondents were men, 67.1 percent were white, and 34.8 percent reported between 11 and 20 years of experience. Burnout in the group reporting between 11 and 20 years of experience decreased from 44.4 percent in 2017 to 41.9 percent in 2019, but increased to 50.4 percent in 2021.
Significantly higher burnout rates were observed among female physicians versus their male counterparts, primary care physicians versus physicians in other specialties, and physicians with ≤10 years of experience versus those with more experience.
"The findings of this study suggest that the rate of physician burnout in the US is increasing," the authors write. "This pattern represents a potential threat to the American healthcare system’s ability to care for patients and needs urgent solutions."
