About a quarter of U.S. physicians report symptoms of depression, and nearly 1 in 10 have suicidal thoughts, according to Medscape's ''Physician Burnout Report" published March 3.
Medscape surveyed 9,175 physicians in more than 29 specialties from June 28 to Oct. 3, 2022.
Nine percent of physicians reported suicidal thoughts, the same percentage as a year prior and down from 22 percent in 2020. One percent reported attempting suicide.
"Admitting to having felt suicidal but not attempted suicide does speak to how stressed a certain cohort of today's doctors are," Michael Myers, MD, professor of clinical psychiatry at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in New York City, told Medscape. "The fact that only a small percentage of these individuals went on to attempt suicide is a good sign that they perhaps shared this with a trusted colleague, friend or family member or sought professional help."
This year, otolaryngologists were most likely to report suicidal thoughts at 13 percent, while pulmonologists were the least at 4 percent. Medscape said these figures vary greatly among specialties year to year.
"The specialties with the highest reporting of physician suicidal thoughts are also those with the greatest physician shortages, based on the number of job openings posted by recruiting sites," Peter Yellowlees, MD, professor of psychiatry and chief wellness officer at Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health, told Medscape.
Otolaryngology — 13 percent have had suicidal thoughts
Psychiatry — 12 percent
Family medicine — 12 percent
Anesthesiology — 12 percent
Obstetrics/gynecology — 12 percent
Emergency medicine — 12 percent
Physical medicine and rehabilitation — 11 percent
Internal medicine — 11 percent
Pediatrics — 11 percent
Plastic Surgery — 11 percent
Public health and preventive medicine — 11 percent
Allergy and immunology — 10 percent
General surgery — 10 percent
Neurology — 10 percent
Urology — 9 percent
Cardiology — 9 percent
Pathology — 8 percent
Infectious disease — 8 percent
Gastroenterology — 8 percent
Diabetes and endocrinology — 8 percent
Ophthalmology — 8 percent
Critical care — 8 percent
Dermatology — 7 percent
Radiology — 7 percent
Orthopedics — 7 percent
Nephrology — 7 percent
Oncology — 7 percent
Rheumatology — 5 percent
Pulmonary medicine — 4 percent