The most burned-out physician specialties

For the survey, AMA collected more than 13,000 responses from both physicians and nonphysician providers from over 70 health systems across 30 U.S. states. The data reflects trends experienced in 2022.

In 2022, the overall burnout among physicians was 53%. Certain specialties were also more likely to report burnout than others. The most burned-out physician specialties include:

• Emergency medicine: 62%
• Hospital medicine: 59%
• Family medicine: 58%
• Pediatrics: 55%
• Obstetrics and gynecology: 54%
• Internal medicine: 52%

Physicians in these specialties were also less likely to report that they felt valued by their organizations. Only 52% of pediatricians said they felt valued by their organizations while less than 50% of the five other specialties reported the same. Among OB-GYNs, only 40% said they felt valued by their organizations.

According to AMA, whether physicians feel valued can impact retention at an organization. As feelings of value decreased, intentions to leave among physicians increased. Overall, 40% of physicians in the survey said they intended to leave their organization in the next two years.

How to support burned-out physicians

At Dayton Children's Hospital, only 36% of pediatricians reported burnout, almost 20 percentage points lower than the pediatric benchmark. Using Dayton as a case study, AMA offered six tips on how to support burned-out physicians:  

1. Provide physicians with ongoing support

According to Sean Antosh, a pediatric anesthesiologist and Dayton's chief medical wellness and engagement officer, the hospital "has done an amazing job of supporting the physicians throughout COVID and return to normalcy."

"The hospital is really good at listening to physicians and so there were conversations with not only the divisional leaders, but those on the front lines to find out what they need," Antosh said.

2. Remove administrative burdens

Since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, physicians have faced new stressors, including the end of protections guaranteeing Medicaid coverage. I

"[A] lot of families don't realize that they have to reverify their Medicaid and so those support services are hitting our families and then that gets put on the physician to follow up and make sure that they are able to go through that process," Antosh said. To help, "the hospitals worked on that as well to get those families back on Medicaid and make sure they realize that they do have to reverify to make sure our kids are being seen and able to be seen."

3. Make small changes to free up physicians' time

To reduce EHR burdens among its staff, Dayton is "constantly working on initiatives that improve" the process, Antosh said.

For example, the hospital plans to roll out changes to inbox messaging and is looking at regulatory compliance issues, as well as dual verification on outpatient prescriptions. "It's those things that we’re constantly trying to improve and find what the stressors are to make small changes that lead to more time to do other things," Antosh said.

4. Recognize and appreciate physicians' hard work

Dayton has several different recognition abilities, including an internal peer-to-peer recognition software, an awards program where winners are chosen by peers, and monthly callouts at meetings.

"It's those moments of feeling appreciated that brings the value," Antosh said.

5. Increase a sense of connection

To encourage connection and collegiality among physicians, Dayton hosts monthly "commensality" gatherings where people can meet for breakfast or lunch and get to know each other and find meaning in their work.

"We piloted last year, and we had about 40 physicians partake in it. Everyone who participated really did value the time they got to spend with colleagues who they may have not met before," Antosh said.

6. Survey data on focus areas

According to Antosh, AMA's Organizational Biopsy survey allowed Dayton to uncover burnout factors that were unique to its physicians and practice environment.  

"The typical divisions that seem to be the most burnt out in our organization were the opposite of what we thought," he said. Instead, there were a few "subspecialties within pediatrics that we under recognized that they had more stressors."

Going forward, Antosh said the organization plans to use the survey data to find the root cause of burnout issues and reduce stressors. (Lagasse, Healthcare Finance, 8/31; Berg, American Medical Association, 8/29; Berg, American Medical Association, 6/23)

As the national physician burnout rate continues to rise, many physician executives want visibility into how physicians are faring at their organization. The challenge is that there’s no single “perfect” measure for physician burnout — and getting a meaningful response rate can be time and resource intensive. Learn how to measure physician burnout with three questions that help you gather valuable insight into your organization's culture.