Why Burnout is Increasing Among U.S. Dermatologists

Dermatologists have enjoyed being ranked last or near last among medical specialties when it comes to burnout. But a new study by Mayo Clinic and American Medical Association researchers suggests dermatologists, like their peers in other specialties, might be fast succumbing to the tell-tale symptoms of professional burnout: emotional exhaustion, loss of meaning in their work and feelings of ineffectiveness.1Shanafelt, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
That’s not good for physicians, their families, the medical profession or patients, according to the study’s first author Tait Shanafelt, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.Dr. Shanafelt and colleagues published an update from a three-year study evaluating burnout and work-life balance among U.S. physicians. They found more than half of U.S. physicians are professionally burned out — up 10% over the last three years. This is according to their comparison of data from 2014 to information collected in 2011. The survey results were based on 6,880 U.S. physicians, a 19% response rate, as well as a population-based sample of 5,313 working U.S. adults in other fields.The study’s results were particularly notable in dermatology, according to Dr. Shanafelt.Read more at Dermatology Times.