The Medscape report includes data from more than 1,700 medical residents in 24 specialties who took part in an online survey from May 14 through June 22. All of the participants were enrolled in a U.S. medical resident program when they took the survey.
Highlighted below are the biggest challenges medical residents face, divided by residency year.
Work-life balance
Years 1-4: 32 percent
Years 5-8: 37 percent
Dealing with time pressures/demands on time
Years 1-4: 21 percent
Years 5-8: 19 percent
Developing a specialty’s required clinical skills
Years 1-4: 14 percent
Years 5-8: 10 percent
Other challenges
Years 1-4: 3 percent
Years 5-8: 4 percent
Relationships with attending physicians
Years 1-4: 2 percent
Years 5-8: 2 percent
Dealing with patient death or treating chronic/terminal patients
Years 1-4: 2 percent
Years 5-8: 2 percent
Relationships with nurses and/or physician assistants
Years 1-4: 2 percent
Years 5-8: 1 percent
