The poster child for a burned-out physician is a young woman practicing in primary care, according to a new study of more than 1300 clinicians.
The study, published today in JAMA Network Open, investigated patterns in physician burnout among 1373 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 [OR], 1.47; 95% CI, 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).
