Physician Burnout Rates by Specialty in 2021
Emergency medicine and critical care had the highest rates of burnout in 2021 (and in 2020). Get a quick look at this stress indicator for 27 more disciplines.
Emergency medicine clinicians reported the highest rates of burnout for 2021 followed by critical care specialists, according to results of a new Medscape survey. They were the top 2 in 2020, too, but in reverse order.
Across 29 specialties, almost half (47%) of the >13 000 physicians surveyed reported feeling burned out during the second full year of caring for COVID-19.
Here's how the specialties shook out (note that the list includes ties).
Physician burnout 2021: Emergency medicine was at the top followed by critical care medicine.
Physician burnout 2021: Clinicians in ID, family medicine, physical medicine and diabetes/endocrinology logged a burnout rate of approximately 50%.
Physician burnout 2021: Radiology, pediatrics, and pulmonary medicine all had burnout rates slightly below 50%.
Physician burnout 2021: Gastroenterology, internal medicine, and urology also experienced burnout at a rate of ~48%.
Physician burnout 2021: Anesthesiology, rheumatology, and neurology specialists experienced burnout at a rate of ~47%.
Physician burnout 2021: The burout rate for general surgery, cardiology, and allergy/immunology was also just above 40%.
Physician burnout 2021: Burnout affected nephrology, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology at a rate of 40%.
Physician burnout 2021: Psychiatry, otolaryngology, and orthopedics experienced burnout at a rate of ~37%.
Physician burnout 2021: Burnout in oncology, pathology, dermatology, and public health/preventive medicine ranged from 36% to 26%.
