What is physician burnout?

Physician burnout is a long‑term stress reaction which can include:

• Emotional exhaustion
• Depersonalization (i.e. lack of empathy for or negative attitudes toward patients)
• Feeling of decreased personal achievement

Burnout is a condition that affects all specialties and all practice settings. 

The occupational burnout rate among physicians in the U.S. continues to moderate since skyrocketing to a record-high in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, although U.S. physicians remain at higher risk for burnout relative to other U.S. workers. The latest national burnout survey found over 45% of physicians reporting at least one symptom of burnout. 

While many factors contribute to burnout, physician burnout is often associated with system inefficiencies, administrative burdens and increased regulation and technology requirements.

"While burnout manifests in individuals, it originates in systems. Burnout is not the result of a deficiency in resiliency among physicians, rather it is due to the systems in which physicians work."

—Christine Sinsky, MD

AMA is the leader in physician well-being, providing real-world solutions to combat burnout at the system level. This is why we fight. AMA resources offer innovative strategies to help physicians and their staff address physician burnout and thrive in the health care environment. 

The “Big 4” factors known to contribute to stress and burnout include:

1. Time pressure, especially in patient visits or documentation
2. Lack of control over work environment
3. Chaotic, fast-paced workplaces
4. Culture of the organization, specifically a culture that does not emphasize communication, cohesion, trust, and alignment of values between clinicians and their leaders

In addition to burnout rates, these factors can be assessed to help direct interventions toward those drivers that are most likely to be contributing to burnout at your organization.

Reducing burnout impacts an organization’s professional satisfaction, financial well-being and workflow efficiency—and is an essential component for providing high-quality patient care.

Six steps to measure and respond to physician and clinician burnout:

1. Establish burnout and well-being as quality indicators for your organization.
2. Establish a well-being committee led by a chief wellness officer (CWO).
3. Conduct a burnout survey using a validated assessment tool.
4. Share results with key stakeholders.
5. Meet with key stakeholders to discuss results and build an intervention plan.
6. Measure the effects of interventions and continue to improve.

Applying strategies and solutions that target distinctive needs can lead to positive changes, including:

• Improved patient satisfaction
• Better morale
• Higher quality of care
• Reduced medical errors
• Improved recruitment and retention

Physician well-being is influenced by both organizational and individual factors. Committed to making physician burnout a thing of the past, the AMA has studied, and is currently addressing, issues causing and fueling physician burnout to better understand the challenges physicians face.