Which physician specialties are seeing a drop in burnout?

After years of rising, physician burnout rates are showing signs of improvement but the strain on doctors is far from eliminated. An exclusive survey from the AMA reveals that while overall burnout has declined across the physician specialties, each field continues to face special, ongoing challenges. 

Across specialties such as emergency medicine and primary care, physicians are still grappling with long hours, administrative demands and mental fatigue. The downward trend offers hope, but experts caution that sustained progress will require specialty-specific support, systemic change and continued attention to physician well-being.

Nearly 18,000 responses from physicians across 43 states were received from more than 100 health systems and organizations who participated in the AMA’s Organizational Biopsy® last year. The AMA national physician comparison report—which is exclusive data to the AMA that is not published anywhere else—reflects 2024 trends on six key performance indicators—job satisfaction, job stress, burnout, intent to leave an organization, feeling valued by an organization and total hours spent per week on work-related activities (known as “time spend”). 

The purpose of the aggregated data is to provide a national summary of organizational well-being and to serve as a comparison for other health care organizations. The results represent data from all organizations that surveyed with the AMA in 2024. 

In 2024, 43.2% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout, down from 48.2% in 2023 and 53% in 2022.

For the most stressful medical job in 2024, the highest percentages of burnout occurred in six physician specialties. They are: 

• Emergency medicine: 52.2%—down from 56.5%.
• Family medicine: 46.4%—down from 51%.
• Obstetrics and gynecology: 45.8%—down from 51.2%.
• Pediatrics: 42.1%—down from 46.9%.
• Internal medicine: 42%—down from 51.4%.
• Hospital medicine: 40.6%—down from 44%. 

Explore how the AMA Health System Program works with health care leaders to tailor solutions that maximize support for physicians and care teams. 

Here are other key performance indicators of well-being highlighted in the 2024 AMA national physician comparison report and how different physician specialties are affected. 

These physician specialties also saw some changes in their reported job stress levels. The physician specialties with the most job stress are:

• Emergency medicine: 51.1%.
• Obstetrics and gynecology: 50.7%.
• Family medicine: 48.8%.
• Pediatrics: 44.1%.
• Internal medicine: 43.3%.
• Hospital medicine: 40.6%. 

Meanwhile, job satisfaction also saw improvements. For 2024, the highest percentages of job satisfaction occurred in the same six physician specialties, but in another different order. They are: 

• Obstetrics and gynecology: 80%.
• Pediatrics: 78.8%.
• Hospital medicine: 76.9%.
• Family medicine: 76.8%.
• Internal medicine: 75.4%.
• Emergency medicine: 73.1%. 

As the leader in physician well-being, the AMA is reducing physician burnout by removing administrative burdens and providing real-world solutions to help doctors rediscover the Joy in Medicine®.

While there is still more work to be done in each physician specialty to improve well-being, the improvement in burnout rates as well as job stress and satisfaction is a sign that health systems and organizations are putting in the work. 

Here—in order of burnout rate as listed above—is an inside look at different physician specialties from AMA members who have participated in the AMA “Shadow Me” Specialty Series, which offers advice directly from doctors about life in their specialties. 

Each doctor is from an organization that is a member of the AMA Health System Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.

“Burnout is significant in emergency medicine,” said Sam Mossallam, MD. “Henry Ford Health has many processes and initiatives in place to enhance physician wellness and reduce burnout. One example is having behavioral health care integrated virtually with telemedicine.”

“When a patient under a physician’s care is experiencing acute stress and encounters difficulty finding behavioral health services, it can often make their physician feel like they’re alone in trying to meet the patient’s needs,” said Dr. Mossallam. “Just knowing there is help available through integrated behavioral health helps physicians experience a sense of relief.”

Ashley Erwin, MD, recognizes that “as the gatekeepers of medicine, family medicine physicians bear a heavy burden, with expectations continually rising.”

But “the support staff at Henry Ford Health is outstanding. My medical assistants, nurses, pharmacists and case managers are invaluable, and I couldn’t function effectively without them,” Dr. Erwin said. “Additionally, there’s a program or clinic available for nearly every concern. If I have questions about a case, I can easily connect with the doctor’s advice line or submit an e-consult to interact with the appropriate clinic.”

"Ob-gyn is demanding work with long hours—many of our hours occur after 5 p.m. It is also a female-dominated specialty, and women also have many competing, time-consuming and important roles that require significant attention,” said Kimberly D. Warner, MD.

Colorado Permanente Medical Group is aware of the impact of burnout, which is why there is “a very robust wellness committee dedicated to the identification of reasons for burnout and combating them,” Dr. Warner said. “We have availability for mental health consultations, and we also benefit from tips on mindfulness, quality sleep, exercise and camaraderie.”

While physician burnout is a problem in internal medicine, Confluence Health and their physician group “do work hard at trying to reduce physician burnout,” said Lexie Graham, MD. For example, “our medical group has provided access to WorkLife Concierge to help with work-life balance. 

“We also have a director of physician experience who is a physician with dedicated administrative time to lead efforts to support both physicians and nonphysician providers,” Dr. Graham added. “That includes organizing events, providing coaching and working with departments to help improve engagement and reduce burnout. 

“As a hospitalist, I would say the greatest source of burnout is not medical issues or patient census, but rather patient-specific social dynamics or system-based social issues,” said Clyde J. Pierce, MD. To help, “Confluence Health has contracted with a third party that is available for counseling, career coaching and other assistance. 

“Additionally, we have peer-to-peer counseling programs that are discreet and widely available,” Dr. Pierce added. 

Additionally, discover how Texas Children’s Pediatrics is working to reduce burnout among pediatricians. 

Download the 2024 AMA Joy in Medicine™ magazine (log into your AMA account to view) to see whether your organization is part of the prestigious group of 130 organizations across 35 states that are currently recognized for their dedication to physician well-being.

AMA STEPS Forward® open-access toolkits offer innovative strategies that allow physicians and their staff to thrive in the new health care environment. These resources can help you prevent burnout, create the organizational foundation for joy in medicine and improve practice efficiency.