The number of orthopedic surgeons who reported feeling burnt out increased in 2021 compared to 2020, according to Medscape's 2022 "Physician Burnout Report" published Jan. 21.
Medscape surveyed 13,069 physicians across 29 specialties between June 29 and Sept. 26.
1. Thirty-seven percent of orthopedic physicians surveyed said they were burnt out. Last year's report, which surveyed physicians in 2020, found 33 percent of orthopedists felt burnt out. The specialties that reported the highest rates of burnout included emergency medicine (60 percent), critical care (56 percent) and OB-GYN (53 percent).
2. Other specialties reporting low burnout rates included public health and preventive medicine (26 percent), dermatology (33 percent), pathology (35 percent ) and oncology (36 percent).
3. Women were more likely to report burnout than men. Fifty-six percent of female physicians said they were burnt out, and 41 percent of male physicians said the same.
4. Fifty-eight percent of physicians working in outpatient clinics reported burnout, and 48 percent of hospital physicians reported burnout. Thirty-nine percent of office-based solo practice physicians said they felt burnt out, and 45 percent of those at office-based single-specialty group practices reported burnout.
5. Most physicians surveyed reported having either colloquial or clinical depression. Twenty-four percent said they were clinically depressed, and 64 percent reported colloquial depression — feeling down or sad.