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Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Burnout is an ongoing part of many physicians' lives, and for some it can even lead to suicide. This part of Medscape's Lifestyle Report looks at how often pathologists experience burnout, as well as how happy they are in their personal lives and how they spend their time outside of work.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Working as a pathologist often entails frustration and challenges. Compared with other specialists, pathologists are about in the middle of the pack. Only 31% of pathologists in Medscape's survey responded that they were very or extremely happy.
Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% due to rounding.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
In general, all physicians are happier outside of work than at work, including pathologists. Almost half of pathologists are either very or extremely happy outside of work.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
A third of pathologists are burned out, a lower percentage than physicians overall (44%). Pathologists' rates of reported colloquial and clinical depression are about the same as those of physicians overall (11% and 4%, respectively).
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Pathologists rely on a mix of potentially destructive behaviors and positive coping skills to deal with burnout. Among all physicians, exercise was the chief method of coping with burnout (48%).
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Many factors lead to burnout, but the major ones include lack of respect from administrators, colleagues, or staff; spending too many hours at work; having too many administrative tasks; and feeling like just a cog in a wheel.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Of those pathologists who say that they are depressed, more than three fourths believe that it has no impact on patient interactions. Those who do admit that patient care is affected cite making errors they might not ordinarily make and possibly being less careful when taking patient notes.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Depression's effects are not limited to patient interactions. For the large majority of depressed pathologists, the condition expresses itself in some aspect of their work behavior.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Thirteen percent of pathologists who are burned out, depressed, or both admitted to having had thoughts of suicide. That's nearly the same as the percentage of all such physicians who said they had had suicidal thoughts (14%) or had attempted suicide (1%).
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
The majority of pathologists don't seek help. Many physicians have rationalized their exhaustion and discontent, noting that other physicians feel it too. Others say they don't think their degree of unhappiness is bad enough to require outside help.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Increasingly, hospitals and large healthcare organizations offer physician wellness programs for reducing stress and burnout. Pathologists who noted that their employer did not offer such a program, or that they didn't know whether a program was available at their workplace, were split about how likely they would be to use one were it offered.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
About half of pathologists describe their self-esteem as high or very high. Our survey results show that self-esteem varies within the specialties: Plastic surgeons (73%), urologists (68%), and ophthalmologists (67%) have among the highest self-esteem, while internists (50%), oncologists (48%), and infectious disease specialists (47%) come in at the bottom of that scale.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Pathologists are similar to all physicians in that the large majority are married or in a committed relationship. The percentage of single pathologists (10%) is similar to the overall physician average of 7%.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Overall, 84% of physicians say their marriage is either good or very good, similar to the percentage of pathologists (85%). Among physicians who describe their marriage as very good, pathologists, at 53%, are in the middle of the scale. Happiest are otolaryngologists (67%), plastic surgeons (64%), and urologists (64%). At the low end of the scale are anesthesiologists (47%), cardiologists (47%), and psychiatrists (45%).
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Pathologists spend almost the same amount of time as physicians overall (70% of whom spend 1-10 hours) on personal use of the Internet. Data from USC Annenberg found that the average American spends 24 hours online a week, up from 9.4 hours in 2000.[1]
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
The majority of pathologists spend from 1 to 10 hours per week on the Internet for professional use. A third spend 11 hours or more per week online for work-related purposes, compared with 22% of physicians overall.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
For pathologists, Toyota is the top make, followed by Honda. For physicians overall, the top two are also Toyota and Honda, followed by BMW, Ford, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
More than a third of pathologists take from 3 to 4 weeks of vacation, while about another third (34%) take 5 weeks or more. Overall, 43% of physicians take from 3 to 4 weeks of vacation annually, and 23% take 5 weeks or more.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Among all physicians in our survey, 70% say they have a spiritual or religious belief, greater than the percentage of pathologists (56%). In Medscape's 2012 Lifestyle Report, 83% of physicians said they have a belief system.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
Among all physicians, 35% exercise at least four times a week, just over a third exercise two or three times a week, and just under a third exercise once a week or less (including never). A similar percentage of pathologists (36%) exercise at least four times a week.
Leslie Kane, MA | February 20, 2019 | Contributor Information
About 53% of pathologists average less than one drink per week or are non-drinkers. For physicians overall, that figure is 47%. Among all physicians, 8% have at least seven drinks per week, compared with 11% of pathologists.
Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2019
More than 15,000 physicians told Medscape how they feel about burnout, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and also how they attain happiness.Medscape Features Slideshows, January 2019
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Leslie Kane, MA
Senior Director
Medscape Business of Medicine
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References
Cole J. Surveying the digital future. Center for the Digital Future. USC Annenberg. 2017. Source Accessed November 28, 2018.
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