Doctors and medical professionals are expected to attend to the ill and provide relief to those in distress, but what happens when medical practitioners are suddenly those who are at risk? Physician burnout is on the rise in the United States and worldwide, and experts are now referring to it as an epidemic negatively affecting the healthcare system.
Physician burnout, also known as doctor burnout, can cause reduced satisfaction on the job, extreme fatigue, frustration, depression, and even suicide. Sadly, research shows that doctors, whose profession is to care for and heal others, have suicide rates that are significantly higher than the general population. It is believed that one out of every three medical practitioners experiences burnout at some point during their career.
This increase in physician burnout rates is an alarming development that does not appear to be slowing down, and your best defense against this potentially life-threatening condition is knowledge. The more you know, the better you can protect yourself and others.
What is Physician Burnout?
At its core, physician burnout is a psychological syndrome triggered and worsened by continuous exposure to stressors in the work environment. Burnout syndrome is a problem in many professions, but it takes on a whole new meaning for someone who has the life of other people in their hands. A comparison often used to describe the effects of burnout is a battery and how a low battery affects electronic devices and other gadgets.
When a battery runs out, the device it is meant to power can no longer function. You can often tell that a battery is dying by how the remote control takes longer to perform the desired action or how kids' toys start moving slower until they don’t move at all. While not the same, burnout starts and ends similarly.
At first, someone affected by burnout might notice how everything tends to require more effort than usual or how they are not finding the same enjoyment in a profession they once loved. With time, unless that battery gets recharged, they get to a point where they can’t go on. This can lead to multiple different scenarios, such as making mistakes and getting fired, choosing to quit, or worse.
Physician Burnout vs. General Burnout Syndrome
Doctor burnout is a sub-type of burnout syndrome that, you guessed it, is experienced by physicians. The concept of burnout is similar across a long list of different professions. However, medical practitioners appear more prone to this syndrome than those working other types of jobs. The secondary effects of burnout can also be significantly more extreme among doctors and those active in the medical field, simply due to the seriousness of the profession.
The consequences of making a mistake on the operating table likely outweigh a mistake made in a coffee shop. This responsibility could potentially be a contributing cause to physician burnout, making it difficult for those affected to find the light at the end of the tunnel.
The Link Between Physician Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
Burnout and compassion fatigue often go hand in hand—especially for people in helping and caring professions. Many experts consider compassion fatigue an umbrella term for burnout and secondary traumatic stress, however they are two distinct conditions. Both are common syndromes within the medical healthcare professional community.
If you are unfamiliar with compassion fatigue, we covered the causes, symptoms, and treatment of compassion fatigue in this article.
Physician Burnout Causes: What Causes Doctor Burnout?
If we are going to effectively treat or prevent it, we need to understand some of the causes of physician burnout causes. There are many theories about what causes burnout in healthcare workers, with one being the extreme workload and the building pressure of such a vital profession. Long hours, busy days with little or no time for breaks, and a growing list of responsibilities are only some of the potential causes.
With today’s technical advances, it is estimated that for every hour a doctor spends with a patient, another two hours are spent filling out journals and completing paperwork. There was a time when being a doctor meant a primary focus on making house calls, examining patients, prescribing medication, and performing surgery, but that is not the life of a healthcare professional today. New procedures are constantly packed onto an already overwhelming workload, and with the healthcare system crumbling under the weight of a growing population and limited resources, doctors and medical professionals often face the backlash from patients. It can be near impossible not to take patient disapproval to heart.
Additionally, burnout causes more and more medical professionals to leave their jobs, which inevitably increases the workload and pressure put on those who choose to stay. It is a circle of negative consequences that end up affecting everyone involved.
Recognizing the Early Signs and Symptoms of Physician Burnout
Doctors are taught to recognize symptoms of illness in others, but it’s extremely important to be able to recognize the early signs of burnout syndrome in yourself. It can often be subtle at first, with the risk of escalating if left untreated. In the 1970s, a team led by Christina Maslach had three main symptoms that were considered diagnostic criteria for physician burnout. While these are not the only possible signs, they are potentially the first symptoms you might notice.
Extreme Physical Fatigue and Exhaustion
If you are suddenly waking up just as tired as you were when going to bed, and if something inside is telling you that you can’t handle your current work responsibilities anymore, you might be experiencing physician burnout.
Compassion Fatigue and Attitude Changes
Someone who has a change in attitude, appears less compassionate towards patients, complains more, and seems overall negative could suffer from physician burnout.
Self-Doubt Regarding Your Impact
Hopelessness and doubting your abilities to make a difference or do your job is another sign. Feeling anxiety or stress ahead of routine procedures is something to look out for, especially if that feeling is new.
If any of these feel familiar, you may be on the road to developing chronic burnout syndrome.
Advanced Symptoms of Burnout in Physicians
Doctor burnout is a reaction to extreme stress, and the symptoms can manifest themselves anywhere along the burnout syndrome spectrum—from mild to severe. The signs of chronic physician burnout syndrome differ depending on who is experiencing them. The following are only a few well-known examples.
Physical Physician Burnout Symptoms
- Extreme fatigue
- Compromised immune system
- Body and muscle pain
- Headaches and/or migraines
- Sleep or appetite habit changes
Emotional Physician Burnout Symptoms
- Self-doubt and hesitancy
- Feeling stuck and workplace claustrophobia
- Isolation and withdrawa from others
- Motivational decrease
- Negative emotions and pessimism
- Loss of interest in past hobbies and interests
- Sense of professional or personal failure
Behavioral Physician Burnout Symptoms
- Failing to fulfill commitments
- Prolonging the completion of tasks
- Increased consumption of alcohol, drugs, or food
- Reduced empathy towards patients and coworkers
- Blaming others as a coping mechanism
- Frustration and angry outbursts
- Inability to arrive on time and meet deadlines
To learn more about the potentially serious consequences of physician burnout, read our comprehensive guide to workplace burnout syndrome.
Who Is Affected by Physician Burnout?
Burnout can affect anyone, but Physician Burnout is what primarily affects healthcare workers and doctors. The presentation is often similar to the burnout experienced by the general public, but the cause can be somewhat different. Doctors have a workload that compares to few other professions, and this particular type of burnout can affect anyone who actively practices within the healthcare niche.
While poor working conditions lead to higher risks of developing Physician burnout, any doctor can find themselves affected by this epidemic. It can happen suddenly or sneak up on you, and it can sometimes be difficult to spot the signs yourself.
Physician Burnout by Specialty
Research has shown that the medical profession group most affected by physician burnout is emergency medicine (60%), closely followed by those working in critical care (56%) and gynecology/obstetrics (53%). This data was obtained by a 2022 Mediscape Depression and Physician burnout report and included the accounts of 13,069 medical professionals.
During the study period, between June 29, 2021, and Sept. 26, 2021, alarmingly high rates of self-reported burnout symptoms were found across all the doctors participating in the study. For 24 of 29 specialties, at least 40% of the physicians within each group reported high stress at the burnout level.
The actual physician burnout rates, by percentage for each specialty, in this study are as follows:
- Emergency Medicine: 60%
- Critical Care: 56%
- Genecology and Obstetrics: 53%
- Family Medicine: 51%
- Infectious Conditions and Diseases: 51%
- Endocrinology and Diabetes: 50%
- Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine: 50%
- Pediatrics: 49%
- Radiology: 49%
- Urology: 48%
- Gastroenterology: 48%
- Internal Medicine: 48%
- Pulmonary Care: 48%
- Anesthesiology: 47%
- Neurology: 46%
- Rheumatology: 46%
- General Surgery: 44%
- Immunology and Allergies: 42%
- Cardiology: 42%
- Plastic Surgery: 40%
- Ophthalmology: 40%
- Nephrology: 40%
- Psychiatry: 38%
- Orthopedics: 37%
- Otolaryngology: 37%
- Oncology: 36%
- Pathology: 35%
- Dermatology: 33%
- Preventive Medicine/Public Health: 26%
Physician Burnout Statistics Show Increased Stress
When we look at physician burnout statistics, a more significant increase in workplace-related stressors among physicians and nurses has been observed since the start of the pandemic, and COVID-related physician burnout is a very real issue. Added pressure on the healthcare system has led to a more chaotic work environment, increased stress, and fewer opportunities to catch a break.
The Mayo Clinic and Stanford University School of Medicine performed a study on 7,500 physicians in 2020, and first noted a decrease in reported cases of physician burnout among healthcare workers (38.2%), compared to studies made in 2017 (43.9%) and 2011 (54.4%). However, this seemingly positive trend did not apply to those specializing in, for example, infectious disease, critical care, or emergency medicine, where the reports of increased stress spiked shortly after the pandemic hit.
Newer studies reveal that stress and burnout are on the rise again among physicians and health care professionals as a whole. The 2022 Mediscape study mentioned earlier found that feelings of stress were greatly affected by where physicians worked. The highest stress levels were experienced by doctors who practiced in outpatient clinics, with 58% of them reporting that they felt burned out. Doctors at health care organizations and hospitals were not too far behind, with self-reported doctor burnout rates at 50% and 48%, respectively.
Doctor Burnout Rates Affect Quitting and Early Retirement
With nurse, physician, and doctor burnout rates on the rise, remaining in the situation becomes unsustainable in the long run. Hospitals are short-staffed, and physicians are overworked, inevitably putting professionals at risk. One of the most common symptoms of physician burnout is feeling like you aren’t enough and that your work isn’t sufficient to benefit patients. Many choose to quit or go into early retirement, which only ends up further straining the healthcare industry. It is a vicious circle that is difficult to break.
Studies have shown that as many as 43% of participating physicians considered early retirement in 2021. In a survey of 700 primary care workers and carried out by the Larry A. Green Center, the results showed that 40% predicted that the primary care profession would be completely eliminated within the next five years, with 25% of those participants planning to retire or leave the field in three years or less.
An Uncertain Future for the Medical Profession?
With so many reports of poor mental health among health care professionals, what are the chances that students will want to pursue a career in the field? Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers are essential to a functional society but can’t be expected to work under conditions that make them mentally exhausted and potentially ill.
How to Prevent Physician Burnout: What Can Be Done?
When it comes to preventing physician burnout, there are no quick fixes. The healthcare industry is in a state of crisis which has been magnified by the Covid 19 pandemic—however the issues already existed. In order prevent physician burnout, steps must be taken at both the individual, institutional, and industry level.
According to research performed by Dr. Tait Shanafelt, the physicians who were the most satisfied with their jobs felt included in the decision-making and were consulted regularly about necessary workplace improvements. For employers, this is something to consider when preventing and treating physician burnout.
Burnout prevention in the medical profession is a topic that needs some serious research to find effective strategies. Here are a few ideas to help combat the issue and hopefully lower the alarming statistics.
Ensure Proper Work-Life Balance
Several strategies exist if you are personally working to prevent yourself from burning out. Although it may be easier said than done, one of the most important things a doctor can do to prevent burnout is to have a life outside work, with non-work-related hobbies and things you are passionate about. A physician must learn to disconnect from work to preserve stable mental health, or the weight of the profession could become overwhelming. Whenever possible, choose a workplace that recognizes the importance of maintaining a good work-life balance.
Highlight the Issue During the Learning Stage
It is essential that future physicians are introduced to the concept of doctor burnout, as early as possible. The sooner they are able to recognize the symptoms of physician burnout, the better. Medical students should receive proper support throughout their years in medical school and residency. Health organizations and medical institutions must collaborate to provide a supportive learning environment where the importance of mental well-being is openly discussed.
Implement Better IT Solutions
With the growing list of administrative responsibilities doctors are faced with, good IT solutions have become more important than ever before. Struggling with the existing IT solutions disrupts the workflow and can be incredibly distracting, and updates are needed to lessen the workload for doctors worldwide.
Provide Sufficient Mental Health Support
The mental health stigma is a contributing cause of physician burnout, since many doctors and those working in the health profession are scared to admit when they’re struggling. Bridges between health care workers and available resources are needed, with a more open approach to admitting when there is a problem to find solutions.
Physician Burnout Treatment: How to Cope with Stress of Being a Doctor
The first step towards treating physician burnout is to recognize that it exists and assess the severity of the symptoms. In order to prevent early signs from developing into more serious chronic burnout syndrome, taking a burnout risk assessment is essential.
Burnout experienced by doctors, just like work burnout experienced by people in any other profession, is a reaction to the stress brought on by your occupation. For physicians struggling with burnout, here are a few tips to help manage the high levels of stress associated with practicing medicine.
Set Reasonable Boundaries
The first thing you need to do is to start setting limits. You can’t handle everything yourself and say yes whenever someone asks you to add another task to your list, and it is time to start establishing boundaries. Ask others for help, both in the workplace and in your personal life, and know that it’s okay to speak up when you have enough on your plate.
Implement Schedule Changes
Sometimes, a change in routine can be good. See if you can swap shifts with someone, take a day off, or work fewer hours. It can be the smallest change that snaps you out of burnout, and sometimes you just need something new.
Spend Time with Friends and Family
Life isn’t just about work; a good way to work through physician burnout is to spend time with family and loved ones. Quality time with those we care about can help you see that light at the end of the tunnel and be a much-needed reminder that you are more than just a doctor. It is the ideal way to disconnect from your work-life.
Add Physical Exercise to Your Daily Routine
Physical exercise is known for having remarkable benefits on a person’s mental health, and for someone who spends 40+ hours inside a hospital every week—fresh air and exercise will likely do you good. Consider joining a gym or going for a relaxing walk to help clear your head.
Find a New Hobby
Ask yourself what you like to do in your free time. Perhaps you haven’t had much free time lately, but what would you do if you had the opportunity? Use this knowledge to find a new hobby based on an interest that isn’t related to work.
Join a Support Group
Talking to someone is always helpful, and hearing others describe similar experiences can be a lifesaver. A psychiatrist can help you through hard times, but you can also check if there are support groups in your area or online, where you can share your struggles with peers who understand.
Final Thoughts
It’s worth noting that it isn’t just physicians that suffer when experiencing burnout. Someone in this state of mind could also present a risk to patients, as it is near impossible to give 100% when you are struggling. How can someone who is struggling to make it through the day be expected to care for the life of others?
The increase in physical burnout among physicians and healthcare workers is a massive issue that needs concrete solutions, and it needs to start with better working conditions and support.
If you or a loved one is showing signs of burnout, it’s important that they know they are not alone and that they seek help.
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