Burnout among U.S. doctors is getting worse, according to a study that shows physicians are worse off today than just three years earlier. Mayo Clinic researchers, working with the American Medical Association, compared data from 2014 to measures they collected in 2011 and found higher measures on the classic signs of professional burnout. More than half of physicians felt emotionally exhausted and ineffective. More than half also said that work was less meaningful.
The data dovetail with a recent JAMA study, which found much greater prevalence of depression among doctors in training than in the general population.
Washington Post
This should be alarming news for you as a patient. Why ? Is your physician worried about making payroll,overhead expenses, saving for retirement, educating his/her children, and the immediate need for paying off astronomical student loans between $100,000 dollars and $250,000 dollars. Shouldn't your physicians be using all their energy for caring for you and also continuing medical education. The prospect of a medico-legal misadventure are highly probable in a physician's career. The professional bar for performance is very high (as it should be). The vast majority of physicians are not self-serving and have am ethical and moral interest in your health. Few enter the profession with the idea of becoming rich, only to maintain a reasonable standard of living, educate their children and save for retirement. Their income results in a considerable tax responsibility. If one is a small practice doctor the personal financial liabilities are immense for overhead, dues, subscription fees, professional society dues, state licensees, the cost of specialty recertification and more.
Taken together, experts say the problems require solutions that offer a systemic approach. All health care organizations have a shared responsibility to address the situation, they add.
The responsibility is not just for health care organizations, but is that of general society to protect those who sacrifice much to care for you.. When was the last time you asked your physician how he was doing ? If you like your doctor, perhaps a letter to your congressman or senator stating what you observe and not demand unreasonable bureaucracy being placed upon your caregivers. They serve you, the patient, healthy, sick or otherwise. They are not government employees unless they work for a state, county, or federal agency such as the Veterans Administration, military service, or public health agency. The vast majority of doctors are now seeking employment, just to escape the endless worsening tunnels of managed care, federal regulations and mandates for automated medicine, electronic health records. All of these factors shorten a career life add disability issues and increase the shortage of physicians.. There are few highly paid specialty groups, radiology, neurosurgery, and several interventional medical specialties, such as gastroenterology, and cardiology.
It would be a unique experience to see how federal regulations could be designed to lower stress and cost for physicians.
I am not holding my breath.
Burnout increasing among U.S. doctors - The Washington Post
Signs of depression are 'unacceptably high' among doctors in training, study finds
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