The poster child for a burned-out physician is a young woman practicing in primary care, according to a new study of more than 1,300 clinicians.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open. investigated patterns in physician burnout among 1,373 physicians at Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, a hospital-owned group practice. It assessed burnout in 3 years: 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Rates of burnout appear to be worsening; they increased from 44% to 50% between 2017 and 2021.Respondents were queried about their satisfaction with their career and compensation, as well as their well-being, administrative workload, and leadership and diversity.
Female physicians exhibited a higher burnout rate than male physicians (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.12), while among primary care physicians (PCPs), the burnout rate was almost three times higher than among those in internal medicine (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 1.76-4.50). Among physicians with 30 or more years of experience, the burnout rate was lower than among those with 10 years of experience or less (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.13-0.35).
The fact that burnout disproportionately affects female physicians could reflect the additional household and family obligations women are often expected to handle, as well as their desire to form relationships with their patients, according to Timothy Hoff, PhD, a professor of management, healthcare systems, and health policy at Northeastern University, Boston.
Read more on the JAMA Network Open
