Burnout rates among radiologists are returning to pre-pandemic levels, despite the looming persistence of a radiology workforce shortage.
Other mental health well-being indicators, such as work-life satisfaction and moral distress, continue to affect radiologists. Two recent studies — one published April 9 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings and another published April 7 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology — offer a revealing snapshot of the mental health of radiologists
Moral distress
Members of the Radiological Society of North America were asked to participate in a survey to evaluate the state of moral distress among radiologists. One hundred and twenty-six radiologists across five states responded.
Survey results showed radiologists had a moral distress score between 24 and 66 out of a maximum of 266.
Moral distress scores were almost twice as high among radiologists who worked more than 60 hours per week compared to those who work less than 60 hours, at 59 and 32.5, respectively.
Factors that contributed to moral distress among radiologists were pressure to perform an unsafe number of studies, high workloads that impede teaching, lack of administrative support for patient care issues and pressure to conduct unnecessary imaging.
Burnout and work-life satisfaction
Led by a team from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, researchers surveyed 7,643 physicians, including 292 radiologists, to evaluate the prevalence of burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and satisfaction with work-life integration.
Results from the survey, which took place between Oct. 19, 2023, and March 3, 2024, were compared to the results of similar surveys from 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020 and 2021.
While many of the mental health indicators have stabilized since the COVID-19 pandemic, less than half of radiologists in the latest survey reported feeling satisfaction with their work-life integration.
| 2023 | 2021 | 2020 | 2017 | 2014 | 2011 | ||
| Burnout | |||||||
| Radiologists | 41.80% | 61.50% | 40.50% | 48.50% | 61.40% | 47.70% | |
| All physicians | 45.20% | 62.80% | 38.20% | 43.90% | 54.40% | 45.50% | |
| Satisfaction of work-life integration | |||||||
| Radiologists | 45.20% | 30.40% | 47.80% | 47.40% | 40.60% | 58.90% | |
| All physicians | 42.20% | 30.30% | 46.10% | 42.80% | 40.90% | 48.50% | |
| Emotional exhaustion score | |||||||
| Radiologists | 13.79 | 16.23 | 13.15 | 13.16 | 12.86 | 14.05 | |
| All physicians | 23.2 | 29.1 | 21 | 23.2 | 25.5 | 22.7 | |
| Depersonalization score | |||||||
| Radiologists | 5.7 | 9.22 | 5.76 | 6.87 | 7.33 | 6.87 | |
| All physicians | 6.9 | 9.8 | 6.1 | 6.8 | 8.1 | 7.1 |
As workforce shortages persist and workloads increase, these findings provide context for ongoing discussions about mental health and workplace dynamics in radiology.
