Professional Satisfaction and the Career Plans of US Physicians
To view the full text, please login as a subscribed user or purchase a subscription. Click here to view the full text on ScienceDirect.
Figure
Relationship between age, burnout, and intent to leave medicine altogether to pursue a different career in the next 24 months. A, Relationship between age and intent to leave medicine altogether. B, Relationship between burnout and intent to leave medicine altogether. C, Relationship between intent to reduce clinical effort, intent to leave current practice, and specialty. GIM = general internal medicine; OBGYN = obstetrics/gynecology; Prev = preventive.
Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the relationship between burnout, satisfaction with electronic health records and work-life integration, and the career plans of US physicians.
Participants and Methods
Physicians across all specialties in the United States were surveyed between August 28, 2014, and October 6, 2014. Physicians provided information regarding the likelihood of reducing clinical hours in the next 12 months and the likelihood of leaving current practice within the next 24 months.
Results
Of 35,922 physicians contacted, 6880 (19.2%) returned surveys. Of the 6695 physicians in clinical practice at the time of the survey (97.3%), 1275 of the 6452 who responded (19.8%) reported it was likely or definite that they would reduce clinical work hours in the next 12 months, and 1726 of the 6496 who responded (26.6%) indicated it was likely or definite that they would leave their current practice in the next 2 years. Of the latter group, 126 (1.9% of the 6695 physicians in clinical practice at the time of the survey) indicated that they planned to leave practice altogether and pursue a different career. Burnout (odds ratio [OR], 1.81; 95% CI, 1.49-2.19; P<.001), dissatisfaction with work-life integration (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.27-2.14; P<.001), and dissatisfaction with the electronic health record (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.16-1.80; P=.001) were independent predictors of intent to reduce clinical work hours and leave current practice.
Conclusion
Nearly 1 in 5 US physicians intend to reduce clinical work hours in the next year, and roughly 1 in 50 intend to leave medicine altogether in the next 2 years to pursue a different career. If physicians follow through on these intentions, it could profoundly worsen the projected shortage of US physicians.
Abbreviations and Acronyms:
CPOE (computerized physician order entry), EHR (electronic health record), OR (odds ratio)To access this article, please choose from the options below
Purchase access to this article
Claim Access
If you are a current subscriber with Society Membership or an Account Number, claim your access now.
Subscribe to this title
Purchase a subscription to gain access to this and all other articles in this journal.
Institutional Access
Visit ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
T.D.S. is currently affiliated with Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, WellMD Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
For editorial comment, see page 1608; for related article, see page 1688
Funding for this study was provided by the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-being.
