Plastic surgeons top the ranking of doctors in happiness

How happy are doctors? It varies by specialty, with plastic surgeons appearing to be the most satisfied with and without work, according to a new Medscape report.

Seventy-one percent of plastic surgeons reported being satisfied, with public health and preventive medicine physicians coming in second with 69%. They topped the list of 29 specialties based on a survey conducted between June and October 2022.

Infectious diseases specialists ranked lowest at 47%, they were the only specialty in which less than half of the respondents said they were satisfied. This is likely due to the ongoing and persistent stressors associated with caring for COVID-19 patients during and after the pandemic.

Between these two extremes were orthopedics and otolaryngology (65%), urology, physiotherapy and rehabilitation (63%).

Ophthalmology, dermatology, pathology and gastroenterology showed a happiness rate of 62%. Radiology and pediatrics round out the list of specialties that occupy 60% or higher, 61% and 60% respectively.

Other specialty rankings: general surgery (59%); pulmonary medicine (59%); nephrology (58%); diabetes and endocrinology (58%); psychiatry (58%); anesthesiology (58%); obstetrics/gynecology (57%); internal diseases (57%); family medicine (56%); cardiology (56%); emergency medicine (55%); resuscitation (55%); allergology and immunology (55%); neurology (54%); oncology (51%); and rheumatology (51%).

WHAT INFLUENCES

The numbers are a bright spot as physicians of all specialties are still struggling with high burnout rates. Based on surveys of more than 20,000 US physicians, data published on the JAMA Health Forum in November showed an overall burnout rate of 49% over a three-year period.

Burnout was 45% in 2019 and decreased throughout the year. There was a short-term increase in early 2020, followed by a decline in the early stages of the pandemic (40-45%). Burnout increased by the end of 2020 (50%), worsened overall during 2021 and showed a sharp increase to the highest level ever recorded by the fourth quarter of 2021 – about 60%.

But while burnout increased, this increase was lower if clinicians felt teamwork or a sense of value. For example, in Q4 2021, burnout was 37% when you felt valued, compared to 69% when you didn’t.

Similar results were found in the study of work environments: burnout was lower in a more relaxed environment compared to a chaotic environment (36% vs. 78%), as well as in those with good teamwork, rather than poor ones (49% vs. 88%) . It is important to note that teamwork burnout curves show moderate improvement with good teamwork, but significantly higher burnout with poor teamwork.

BIG TREND

With a projected shortfall of nearly 140,000 doctors by 2033 and a shortfall of 3 million underpaid healthcare workers over the next five years, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm for the nation’s ongoing healthcare burnout crisis in May 2022.

Health care workers, including doctors, nurses, community and public health workers, and nursing assistants, have long faced systemic challenges in the health care system, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. This, according to Murthy, leads to a crisis level of burnout.

The pandemic, of course, has only made things worse, prompting Murthy to launch a bulletin on combating healthcare worker burnout, which includes recommendations such as reducing the administrative burden, being more responsive to the needs of workers, and removing punitive measures for mental health and substance abuse. . use disorder care.

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