The prevalence of physician distress has been well documented in recent years, and data suggests that 44% of U.S. physicians experience symptoms of burnout.
A recent study titled, “Resilience and Burnout Among Physicians and the General US Working Population,” published in JAMA Network Open — a journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) — evaluated resilience among physicians and how it compared with resilience among other U.S. workers. The study also measured burnout symptoms to analyze the association between resilience and burnout among physicians.
Researchers surveyed 5,445 U.S. physicians and 5,198 U.S. workers. Results revealed significantly higher mean resilience scores among physicians than the general working population. The findings suggest that, although maintaining and strengthening resilience is important, physicians overall do not have a deficit in resilience.
Even among the most resilient physicians, burnout rates were substantial, and 29% of physicians with the highest possible resilience score still experienced burnout. This study demonstrates that solutions such as including efforts to address system issues in the clinical care environment are needed to reduce burnout and promote physician well-being.
To read the full JAMA Network Open article, click here.
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