5 things health care organizations learned about burnout this year

AMA survey data unveiled this year showed that burnout is manifested differently by physician specialty, age, gender and more. Learn more.

By: Sara Berg, MS , AMA News Editor

The profound challenges faced by American physicians have rightly garnered even greater attention in 2023. As the year unfolded, health care organizations found themselves at the intersection of a critical discovery: the profound insights into physician burnout uncovered by an exclusive survey from the AMA.

Through unprecedented global health crises and shifting health care paradigms, the lessons learned about physician burnout are not only crucial for the well-being of doctors but also have far-reaching implications for the entire health system.

More than 13,000 responses from physicians and nonphysician providers in 30 states were received from more than 70 health systems who participated in the?AMA Organizational Biopsy ?. The AMA benchmarking report—which is exclusive data to the AMA that is not published anywhere else—reflects 2022 trends in six key performance indicators: job satisfaction, job stress, burnout, intent to leave an organization, feeling valued by an organization and total hours spent per week on work-related activities (known as “time spend”).

The purpose of the aggregated data is to provide a national summary of organizational well-being and to serve as a comparison with other health care organizations. The results may be limited by the health systems that chose to participate.?

Here is what health care organizations learned about physician burnout in 2023 from this exclusive AMA survey:

1. Half of physicians are reporting burnout
2. Six physician specialties are at high risk for burnout
3. How long you’ve been in practice can tell tale
4. 40% of doctors plan to leave their current practice

Dive deeper into each of these key points by reading the full article here .

Physician burnout demands urgent action

Reducing burnout is essential to high-quality patient care and a sustainable health system. The AMA measures and responds to physician burnout, helping drive solutions and interventions.

Become a member and help the AMA tackle the key causes and provide relief for physicians. Join now.

AMA Recovery Plan for America's Physicians

Learn more about the work the AMA is doing to address physician burnout .