Burnout is a growing problem across the healthcare industry, and physicians are feeling symptoms worse than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on.
A recent study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found the physician burnout rate reached new heights at the end of 2021, bucking the previous declining burnout rate of the previous six years. Physicians are feeling burnout––characterized by feelings of mental or emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, low achievement and more––worse than ever as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its extreme pressures. In addition, stretched resources, inflation and more are impacting physicians.
The study, which was conducted by researchers from the American Medical Association (AMA), Mayo Clinic and Stanford Medicine, found the overall prevalence of burnout among physicians was a shopping 62.8% in 2021. That’s way up from the 38.2% reported in 2020, and still far above the 43.9% in 2017, 54.4% in 2014 and 45.5% in 2011.
“While the worst days of COVID-19 pandemic are hopefully behind us, there is an urgent need to attend to physicians who put everything into our nation’s response to COVID-19, too often at the expense of their own well-being,” Jack Resneck Jr., MD, president of AMA, said in a statement. “The sober findings from the new research demand urgent action as outlined in the AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians, which focuses on supporting physicians, removing obstacles and burdens that interfere with patient care, and prioritizing physician well-being as essential requirements to achieving national health goals.”
Over the past study years, burnout among physicians has been higher than the general U.S. workforce, leading AMA to advocate and work toward solutions to improve conditions for physicians, including publishing its recent Recovery Plan. Other studies have also recently revealed physicians are not coping well with their feelings of burnout, trauma and stress related to their work, with some even turning toward alcohol and other substances on the job. The burnout trend is especially alarming for the industry, as the added stress from the pandemic is leading to more physicians planning to depart their roles.
The AMA’s most recent study surveyed 2,440 physicians between Dec. 9, 2021, and Jan. 24, 2022, using similar methods to previous studies. Mean emotional exhaustion scores increased 38.6%, and mean depersonalization scores increased 60.7% in 2021 compared to 2020, the study found.
“Given the association of physician burnout with quality of care, turnover and reductions in work effort, these findings have profound implications for the US healthcare system,” wrote first author Tait Shanafelt, MD, professor of medicine, Department of Internal Medicine at Stanford, et al.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."