Executive Summary

In an effort to better understand how physicians feel about their jobs, including their workload and communication with patients and the correlation between mental health and workload, locumstory.com surveyed more than 3,700 physicians in nearly every specialty, work setting and region of the country. In 2016, locumstory.com conducted a similar study. This year’s survey examines changes over the past two years in physicians’ sentiments about their profession. The good news is that physicians in 2018 feel less overworked than they did two years ago. This doesn’t mean overwork isn’t an issue, but it appears to be moving in a positive direction. However, physicians are still faced with burnout, mental health issues and not enough time with patients.

Burnout is someone else’s problem

Physician burnout has been a trending topic for years but physicians don’t always recognize it within themselves. Though 74 percent of physicians reported frequently seeing symptoms of burnout in others, only 52 percent of them reported regularly feeling burned out themselves. The most common burnout symptoms physicians experience are irritability and apathy, and about half of physicians also experience chronic fatigue and impaired memory and attention. What does burnout impact the most? Forty percent of physicians cite job satisfaction; more than a quarter say family relationships.

Workload affects physician mental health and thoughts of suicide

More than half of physicians (51 percent) reported that their workload had impacted their mental health, but only 17 percent have sought help and two-thirds say they would not consider meeting with a mental health professional at all. This is likely due to 53 percent of physicians feeling mental health is a taboo topic to discuss. While some (23 percent) have access to mental healthcare through work, most don’t. Of those who do not have access to mental healthcare, 45 percent would like it and 55 percent would not. Six percent of physicians have contemplated suicide because of the demands of their profession and 11 percent take medication for anxiety or depression. Most of the physicians who take medication say that their profession contributes to their anxiety or depression.

Workloads are heavy, but improving

More than half of physicians (55 percent) have less free time outside of work than when they first started their career. However, these numbers have improved in the past two years. When asked the same question in 2016, 64 percent of physicians reported having less free time. Physicians are also feeling more overworked now than when they first started practicing. However, like free-time, these numbers have improved since the 2016 survey. Today, just 56 percent of physicians feel overworked compared to 65 percent two years ago. Additionally, the number of physicians considering leaving their profession prior to age 65 has dropped by 2 percent since 2016. However, more than half of physicians still considered leaving the profession early due to workload.

Time spent with patients is improving

Overall, most physicians feel they spend less time with patients now than when they started their careers and almost all want more direct time with patients. However, these numbers have also improved. In 2016, 58 percent of physicians said they were spending less time patients than they used to, compared to 46 percent today.

Survey Report