The percentage of physicians experiencing at least 1 symptom of burnout has fallen below 50% for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA’s 2023 annual survey, which included more than 12,400 physicians from 31 states, revealed a slow decline in burnout from a peak of 62.8% in 2021. Reported burnout levels fell to 53% in 2022 and further decreased to 48.2% in the most recent survey. Also in terms of good news, job satisfaction increased for physicians from 68% in 2022 to 72.1% in 2023, and a sense of feeling valued by their organization rose from 46.3% in 2022 to 50.4% in 2023. Despite these improvements, the AMA emphasized that more needs to be done to address burnout and support the health of physicians.
The grass could be greener: The highest percentages of burnout occurred in 6 specialties: Emergency medicine (56.5%—down from 62%); internal medicine (51.4%—down from 52%); obstetrics and gynecology (51.2%—down from 54%); family medicine (51%—down from 58%); and pediatrics (46.9%—down from 55%).