Physicians continue to feel burned out and overworked, which is affecting their mental health, according to a study from locumstory.com.
For the study, locumstory, an online physician staffing resource, surveyed more than 3,700 U.S. physicians in various specialties this year.
Seven survey findings:
1. Seventy-four percent of physicians reported frequently seeing symptoms of burnout in their colleagues, and 52 percent regularly feel burned out themselves. Surgeons were the least likely to report feeling burned out themselves, compared to physicians in emergency medicine, OB-GYN, primary care and psychiatry.
2. More than half of physicians (52 percent) said burnout has affected their work performance.
3. Physicians cited "irritability toward co-workers" and "apathy toward patients/job" as the most common symptoms of their burnout.
4. Forty-two percent of physicians said their workload "somewhat negatively" affects their mental health, while 40 percent said, "neither positively or negatively." Six percent said, "very negatively."
5. Seventeen percent of physicians said they have met with a mental health professional, and 16 percent have considered it. Sixty-seven percent said they have never met with a mental health professional.
6. More than half of physicians (53 percent) agreed that mental health is a taboo subject.
7. Six percent of physicians said they have thought about suicide because of their job demands, and more than 10 percent said they take medicine for anxiety or depression.
Read more about the study and results here.
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