Survey: Majority of Physicians Report Feelings of Burnout

A majority of physicians reported feelings of burnout in 2024, according to a new survey. 

Researchers for the  2024 Survey of America's Current and Future Physicians, which focuses on the state of physician, resident, and medical student wellbeing, included 1,723 responses and conducted the survey between June and July 2024. 

According to their data, 2024 represented the fourth consecutive year that a majority of physicians surveyed reported feelings of burnout, compared to just four in ten prior to the pandemic in 2018. More than half of physicians and medical students, and almost half of residents, reported knowing a physician or colleague or peer who had ever considered, attempted, or died by suicide, and a fifth of residents (18%), as well as 12% of physicians, reported knowing a colleague or peer who has considered suicide within the last 12 months. 

There were also improvements in physicians' overall emotional outlook. Significantly fewer physicians reported feeling hopelessness or purposelessness (30%) compared with previous years (34-35% in 2021-2023). Fewer physicians reported withdrawing from family, friends or co-workers when compared to 2023. 

"This report is intended to shine a light on the current state of our physicians’ wellbeing and other insights that can empower physician leadership and preserve the integrity of the patient-physician relationship—and an essential piece to the future vitality of healthcare practice," Physician's Foundation President Gary Price, MD, said in an introduction to the report. "The Physicians Foundation’s 2024 Survey of America’s Current and Future Physicians encompasses physicians’, residents’ and medical students’ perceptions, focusing on wellbeing trends during their educational and professional journeys. The future of medical professionals, professional morale, support for their mental and physical health and recommendations to address wellbeing are some of the highlights for this year’s report."

Read the report here.