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Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
The lingering effects of a global pandemic continue to take a toll on the nation's physicians, and internists are no exception.
In this year's report, Medscape explores physicians' happiness with their personal lives and their professional work, how their marriages and personal relationships are faring, as well as how they are maintaining their physical and mental health. More than 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties responded to the survey.
(Note: Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% due to rounding.)
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
The stress and strain of the pandemic continues to affect physicians of various specialties. The percentage of internists who say they are currently "very" or "somewhat" happy outside of work is slightly lower than for physicians overall (59%).
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Internists were in the middle range of burned-out physicians in our survey. In last year's report, 42% of physicians reported that they are burned out; that's risen to 47% this year.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Female internists reported being burned out at a greater rate than their male colleagues.
"There's no question that women have reported far more role strain during the pandemic than men," says Carol A. Bernstein, MD, psychiatrist at Montefiore Health System and professor and vice chair for faculty development and wellbeing at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "Often women assumed more of the childcare and homeschooling responsibilities in their households. As a result, we know that more women dropped out of the workforce. Also, past studies indicate that women are more likely to report feelings of burnout than men."
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
The volume of bureaucratic tasks is the main contributor to internist burnout, similar to that for physicians overall (60%). Lack of respect from colleagues, increasing use of EHRs and other data technology, and too many work hours were also selected as major factors in this year's report. (Participants could choose more than one response.)
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
A bit more than half of internists reported that they were more burned out now than during the initial months of the pandemic, similar to physicians overall (55%). A third said their burnout was the same.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Among their top strategies to quell burnout, internists reduced their hours at work and took advantage of meditation or other stress-reduction methods. Physicians overall also employed these among their top strategies. (Participants could choose more than one response.)
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
The large majority of internists are currently in a committed relationship, with 80% either married or living with a partner. Similarly, 83% of physicians overall report being in such a relationship.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Most physicians, no matter the specialty, appear to be in happy marriages. Internists are toward the bottom of all specialties when it comes to marital happiness. Otolaryngologists and allergists topped the list (both 91%), followed closely by dermatologists, rheumatologists, and nephrologists (all 90%).
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
A bit more than half of internists are married to or partners with someone who does not work in medicine. This is similar to the proportion among all physicians (56%).
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Among internists balancing parenthood and a medical career, female physicians noted feeling conflicted more often than their male peers (46% vs 29% were "very conflicted" or "conflicted").
This general attitude is reflected in almost all occupations, according to a Pew Research survey, which found that larger shares of mothers than fathers struggled with childcare responsibilities during the pandemic.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
More than half of internists said they are willing to take a cut in pay for better work-life balance or more free time. This is similar among physicians overall (55%).
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Among all physicians who said they were depressed, about a quarter (24%) said they were clinically depressed, similar to the rate of internists reporting the same.
"Burnout is a syndrome caused by occupational stress, whereas depression is an illness caused by many different biological, psychological, and social (including occupational) factors. As such, they can be causally related in both directions — burnout can be a vulnerability factor that leads to depression, and depression can make an individual more likely to suffer burnout," says Peter Yellowlees, MD, an expert in physician health.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
About half of depressed internists said their depression does not have an impact on relationships with patients. Of those who saw an impact, the major behavior they reported was being easily exasperated with patients. (Participants could choose more than one response.)
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Internists are choosing to spend their time with the ones they love and doing the things they enjoy as main drivers to maintain their well-being, as are physicians overall. (Participants could choose more than one response.)
Alexis Polles, MD, medical director for the Professionals Resource Network, which assists impaired physicians, says that when doctors' lives get unbalanced, they need to find things that restore energy and joy.
Sylvie M. Baggett; Keith L. Martin | February 18, 2022 | Contributor Information
Perhaps it's not surprising that more physicians were happier with their work-life balance before the pandemic. Among internists, that was also the case.
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Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.
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Sylvie M. Baggett
Lifestyle Editor
Medscape Medical Lifestyle
Keith L. Martin
Editorial Director
Medscape Business of Medicine
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