Did You Hear? The Majority of Doctors Aren’t Burned Out.

That’s a headline you probably didn’t see last month when Mayo Clinic Proceedings published its latest semi-regular study on physician burnout. Why? Because it doesn’t fit the narrative organized medicine needs to tell to procure more resources — economic and otherwise — for doctors. Plus, as a journalist, I know good news doesn’t sell.

But I’ll report it anyway, as I’ve never really bought into the whole physician burnout thing. Almost every doctor I’ve known is cranky. They’re all overworked, underpaid and frustrated by the system. So are most professionals. The club of cranky, overworked, underpaid and frustrated people is pretty big.

Here’s the good news, courtesy of a survey of a representative sample of 7,643 physicians conducted by eight researchers affiliated with Stanford University, the Mayo Clinic, the American Medical Association and the University of Colorado.

The percentage of physicians who reported at least one symptom of burnout dropped to 45.2% in 2023 from 62.8% in 2021. That’s a 28% decline in the burnout rate. The 2023 figure is the third lowest over the previous 12 years. The study defined burnout as feeling emotionally exhausted, depersonalized or both.

Here’s how that looks in a rudimentary line graph I put together with figures from six physician burnout studies published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings since 2011:

Not sure what was happening in 2020 before the pandemic hit to make most doctors so happy. But the researchers described the 2023 physician burnout rate as “markedly lower.” Their words, not mine.

Here is more good news from the survey:

• 42.1% of the physicians said they “strongly agree” or “agree” with the statement that their work schedule leaves them enough time for their personal and/or family life. That’s up from 30.3% in 2021.
• 36% of the physicians reported high “professional fulfillment” scores. That’s up from 22.4% in 2021.
• 65.1% of the physicians said they would choose to become a physician again. That’s up from 57.1% in 2021.

All in all, being a doctor in 2023 wasn’t too bad, at least according to this study.

Don’t tell that to employed physicians, though.

In a curious finding, a lower percentage of employed doctors said they enjoyed a better work-life balance than did doctors overall. Of the 7,643 doctors surveyed, about 64% were employed by medical practices, hospitals, health systems, health insurance companies, private equity firms or other corporate entities.

As mentioned above, 42.1% of all doctors strongly agreed or agreed that their work schedule gives them enough time for their personal and/or family life. That percentage for employed doctors drops to 40.3%.

As any cranky, overworked, underpaid and frustrated professional will tell you, having a boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Better to be your own boss.

Thanks for reading.

To learn more about this topic, please read:

• “Calling a Physician Burnout Timeout”