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Sunday, January 19, 2020

Physician Burnout Widespread

Physicians between the ages of 40 and 54 experience a higher rate of burnout than younger or older physicians, according to a recent survey of more than 15,000 physicians who cited administrative tasks and work hours as key drivers of their stress.

Nearly half of Generation X physicians reported feeling burned out, compared with 38% of millennials, ages 25 to 39, and 39% of baby boomers, ages 55 to 73, surveyed. Roughly half of all the doctors surveyed also said that they would be willing to take a substantial pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance.

Some 55% of physicians reported that administrative tasks as the main driver of burnout, and spending too many hours at work was also a top contributor across the board. But millennial and Gen X doctors cited also a lack of respect from administrators, employers or colleagues as a top concern, while boomers highlighted increased computerization and electronic medical records.

More here

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hospitals have become procedural profit driven factories. If you only knew how many other surgeries your doctor preforms in one day. You never want to be the last patient.

Anonymous said...

@3:46 I agree with you on the number of surgeries are scheduled for a doctor daily. Recently had emergency surgery and they had patients(believe it was 23) lined up in the recovery room like planes waiting to land at airport. Poor Dr kerrigan was exhausted

Anonymous said...

These doctors work loads are based on greed.

Anonymous said...

Greed? Reimbursement for the insurance carrier you sign up for lowers my payment. I need to do a couple extra just to make ends meet. Remember folks, you sign a contract with an insurance company that pays me and the hospital - this isn’t you buying directly. You have ZERO idea how my office or the hospital operates- you’re just casting stones in your glass house and hiding behind that keyboard.

Anonymous said...

That why my Dr never told me I had Diabetes for two years plus. He claimed that he tried to call and sent a letter. Which I've had the same phone number for 5 years and always get my mail. When he said that he tried to get up with me. I told him not to blow smoke up my seat seat. And admit he putting it nicely screwed up ! Had got to the point were couldn't see as well as other things. He had took on so many patients that he cant provided proper care.

Anonymous said...


" He had took on so many patients that he cant provided proper care."

Don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't really that many actual 'doctors' on the shore anymore. And there will be even less as time goes on. So if you actually have a doctor that will see you, I'd suggest you nicen up a little and learn to appreciate him. Their phones are ringing off the hook with people moving to the shore and looking for a doctor. How do you say 'no'? People need healthcare, and these doctors can only see so many people per day.

It will be nurse practitioners as your only real option for primary care very soon. Many of them are very good people, but they are NOT doctors (though many of them seem to think they are as good as a doctor).

Learn to be content and give your doctor a big 'thank you', not only for putting up with crap from insurance companies all day, but also from people who don't have a clue how hard he has to work.

As the article said-- a lot of them have had enough and are quitting.

'Nurse Practitioner' is abbreviated 'NP'.

Anonymous said...

"Greed? Reimbursement for the insurance carrier you sign up for lowers my payment. I need to do a couple extra just to make ends meet."...

What exactly does it mean when you say make ends meet?

$200,000/year take home not enough?

Anonymous said...

Most people forget doctors have been part of incredibly rigorous academics and school for at least 8 years after high school. Then years of grueling residency for at least 3 more years. Most have no idea the commitment it takes.

Anonymous said...

Botton line is healthcare on this shore is substandard, regardless of the number of doctors. There are a few good doctors and even less good nurses. A good bedside manner is a thing of the past for the most part around here. People who have the means and the SENSE will go across the bridge to see better qualified and more professional caregivers.

I have had so many rude, unprofessional, nasty nurses here that I would have liked to smack a couple. There are several schools around here that churn them out each year but not everyone should be in that industry.

It takes special people with the right attitude and HEART to be a good nurse or doctor. Some people get a title and it goes right to their head. Maybe some of the readers here know what I am talking about. Especially locals who get a degree and now think they are 'somebody'. I am referring to nurses more than doctors.

Even if/when good doctors and/or nurses come here from a different area many are ostracized and treated poorly because they are not 'from here'. And that's assuming a facility can even get good ones to come to this backward area.

I could write a short book about the things I have seen and heard here. People go west or north to get better care, better attitudes and have to worry less about gossiping workers talking about them and their cases, HIPAA be damned.

And all that is BEFORE gov't gets involved and stands between the doctor and patient. Many are afraid of losing their license, being fined, charged, or any other thing Fed and State agencies threaten them with.

There are so many things wrong with quality healthcare in this area, and others, I could write about but then it would seem like I was bashing them for no reason.

I am grateful for the care that we do have, after all, it's better than no care at all. I just expect better. Some people have little to no experience with life outside this peninsula so they don't know what they don't know.





Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Most people forget doctors have been part of incredibly rigorous academics and school for at least 8 years after high school. Then years of grueling residency for at least 3 more years. Most have no idea the commitment it takes.

January 16, 2020 at 10:42 PM

I think you underestimate what people know.

Anonymous said...

And how many 'healthcare professionals' were put into colleges because of their parent's wallets instead of aptitude?

Anonymous said...

Wow, there are a number of completely ignorant comments on this board as usual. Anon 12:08, Anon 7:55 and Anon 6:30 to name a couple.

Most people think they know what it takes to become a physician however they really don't know and I am sure many physicians would love to have the take home pay that many patients think they have. Unfortunately, it is not even close. Unless of coarse you happen to be an Orthopedic Surgeon, Interventional Cardiologist or Radiologist. The PCP, the grunt, the physician on the front line, the one that actually makes the diagnosis and does the hard work is the least financially rewarded.

Quality primary medical care is becoming a thing of the past due to the Greed of Insurance Companies - yes you Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Many physicians are forced to practice assembly-line medicine due to the perpetual decline in reimbursement from insurance companies. It is simple math. Unfortunately, many practices have resorted to hiring physician extenders to produce the volume necessary to have a successful practice. These physician extenders, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are NOT Doctors, not even close. The average NP acquires 2000 hours of training before they are certified to practice, a PA may only get 500 hours. Your most basically trained physician has at least 25,000 hours of training before they can practice independently and by that time the physician has a glaring realization that there is a crap-load of stuff he or she does not know. Your NP or PA unfortunately, does not know how much they don't know which is SCARY. What is even worse is that the State of MD has decided to allow Nurse Practitioners to practice independently, without physician oversight as a way of addressing the shortage of Primary Care Physicians. Patients ignorantly flock to these providers thinking they are qualified to practice medicine as though they are the same as a Doctor. Patients even refer to them as "Doctor" and I highly doubt the patient is ever corrected.

PAs and NPs serve a purpose in the Medical Profession. They are there to assist physicians. They can handle very basic medical care. Granted, some have received additional training in a very specific field of medicine and therefore have acquired additional knowledge. However, most are not sufficiently trained to practice medicine independently yet I don't blame them for taking advantage of a defective, ignorant system.

If you have a Doctor that takes the time to sit down with you, listen to your concerns, actually examines you and does not rush you out of the office, I would suggest that you count your blessings because that physician is dedicated to providing quality care, is likely very under paid, frequently disrespected and is definitely a dying breed.

Anonymous said...

My GP spends less time with me than with inputting his findings and care plans about our brief visit on the computer.

Anon 6:52 said...



THANK YOU 8:34, for taking the time and effort to explain all that. Hopefully at least a few will actually read it and get some idea what is going on.

Your point about insurance company greed is quite under-stated.. I think it's the insurance companies that have destroyed our healthcare system, though they've done it hand-in-hand with the blood-sucking lawyers and a certain government program that was designed to fail from day one.

I suspect you may be a physician yourself. You have my admiration and respect.Thank you to all the dedicated medical providers who endure all this and still do their very best every day.

American heroes.

Anonymous said...

0834, Please do not under value a NP. Sadly, on the shore we rely heavily on NP to provide what use to be general practitioner duties. Most of the larger offices here, you will see a NP or PA prior to ever seeing a MD. Honestly I have seen both for GP functions and definitely prefer the NP route these days. Of course they will refer out to a specialist if it is not in their scope. Maryland has allowed NP's to flourish and set up their own business', which helps with the lack of MD's in the area. I must say, not all NP's are created equal, some better than others etc.

By the way, surgeons make the bulk of the money in OR, not office visits.

Anonymous said...

Who are you to determine what someone should make? That’s like saying parts of the 2A are important. Four years of college + residency + fellowship are not enough for you? Hundreds of thousands in debt and according to you, that income isn’t enough. You’re ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

I am not understating the value of a NP. Rather, I am simply stating the facts. Nurse Practitioners DO NOT have the knowledge to practice medicine independently. To say that they do is ignorant and short-sighted. There are reasons why physicians undergo such extensive training. The amount of information that must be consumed and incorporated into a working knowledge base by physicians is staggering. With that said, even the best trained physician knows only a fraction of what can go wrong with human biology, anatomy and physiology. Nurse Practitioners are taught the basics and as such they have not even scratched the surface of all that can go wrong not only physically but also mentally. Again, the public quite naïvely flock to these providers thinking they are practically doctors. That is fine, as long as you know what you are getting into. Also, your comment that many patients see the NP or PA long before they seen the Doctor is another example of what is wrong with the system. By law, all patients are suppose to see the Doctor BEFORE they are handed over to the NP or PA. Unfortunately, this does not happen.