Physician Burnout
A Potential Threat to Successful Health Care Reform
- Liselotte N. Dyrbye, MD, MHPE;
- Tait D. Shanafelt, MD
- Author Affiliations: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS
- ALLIED HEALTH PERSONNEL
- BURNOUT, PROFESSIONAL
- COSTS AND COST ANALYSIS
- EDUCATION, MEDICAL, GRADUATE
- EFFICIENCY
- HEALTH CARE SYSTEM REFORM
- HEALTH MANPOWER
- HEALTH POLICY
- NURSES
- PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
- PHYSICIAN IMPAIRMENT
- PHYSICIANS
- REIMBURSEMENT MECHANISMS
- UNITED STATES
- WORK SCHEDULE TOLERANCE
Discussions of barriers to successful implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have largely focused on legislative, logistic, and legal hurdles. Notably absent from these discussions is how the health care reform measures may affect the emotional health of physicians.
Burnout is common among physicians in the United States, with an estimated 30% to 40% experiencing burnout.1 Many aspects of patient care may be compromised by burnout. Physicians who have burnout are more likely to report making recent medical errors, score lower on instruments measuring empathy, and plan to retire early and have higher job dissatisfaction, which has been associated with reduced patient satisfaction with medical care and patient adherence to treatment plans.1,2,3,4
Burnout stems from work-related stress. Preliminary evidence suggests that excessive workloads (eg, work hours, on-call responsibilities), subsequent difficulty balancing personal and professional life, and deterioration in work …
