Study details

For the study, researchers analyzed 57 studies involving more than 28,900 physicians in 25 countries published between December 2019 and November 2022.

The researchers found that 18.3% of physicians experienced pandemic-related PTSD during that period, a number that's more than three times higher than the general population.

Specifically, PTSD rates were highest among physicians working in family medicine and emergency medicine, followed by physicians working in otolaryngology.

They also found that female physicians were almost twice as likely as male physicians to develop PTSD, with some data suggesting this could be the result of higher reliance on social support to manage stress, which was limited during the pandemic.

Medical trainees were also significantly more likely to develop PTSD, which the study authors said could be explained by perceived workplace harassment by senior physicians and/or patients. The study found that PTSD risk could increase throughout training, with data showing higher rates of the condition among more senior residents.

"These results suggest that there may be a range of time during residency and transition to a practicing attending that physicians were more prone to PTSD," the authors wrote.

The longer hours that resident physicians worked compared to attending physicians could have also led to increased exposure to traumatic events and higher rates of PTSD, the authors added.

According to the study, physicians with PTSD are likely experiencing burnout, which can lead to decreased productivity, compromised patient care, an increased likelihood of medical errors, increased staff turnover rates, and an elevated risk of suicide.

A survey from the American Medical Association in August 2023 found that 62% of emergency medicine physicians reported feelings of burnout, ranking the highest among all other specialties, followed by hospital medicine (59%), family medicine (58%), and pediatrics (55%). (Taylor, Becker's Hospital Review, 7/25; Lagasse, Healthcare Finance News, 8/2)

Advisory Board workforce resources

Advisory Board has several workforce-related resources, including:

• Gaining an edge on the competition: The key to winning and retaining physician talent.
• Our Take: Becoming the physician employer of choice
• Measuring physician burnout
• Your two-pronged approach to addressing — and preventing — physician burnout