One in five physicians intend to reduce work hours or leave the profession

Editor's Note

The burden and bureaucracy of today’s practice of medicine are major factors influencing physicians’ intentions to reduce work hours or leave the profession, finds this study from the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University.

Of nearly 36,000 physicians across all specialties surveyed, 6,880 (19.2%) responded. Nearly 1 in 5 (19.8%) of respondents said they intend to reduce their clinical work hours in the next year, and 26.6% said it was likely or definite that they would leave their current practice in the next 2 years. Of those leaving, 1 in 50 said they intend pursue a different career altogether.

Burnout (due to excessive clerical burden and loss of control and flexibility), dissatisfaction with the electronic health record and computerized physician order entry form, and dissatisfaction with work-life integration were independent predictors of the intent to reduce work hours or leave the profession.

If physicians follow through on these intentions in the next year or two, it will profoundly worsen the projected shortage of physicians, the researchers say.

To evaluate the relationship between burnout, satisfaction with electronic health
records and work-life integration, and the career plans of US physicians.

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