Why Burnout is Increasing Among U.S. Dermatologists

Posted By American Med Spa Association, Friday, September 2, 2016

Dermatologists have enjoyed being ranked last or near last among medical specialties when it comes to burnout. But a new study by Mayo Clinic and American Medical Association researchers suggests dermatologists, like their peers in other specialties, might be fast succumbing to the tell-tale symptoms of professional burnout: emotional exhaustion, loss of meaning in their work and feelings of ineffectiveness.1 Shanafelt, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. That’s not good for physicians, their families, the medical profession or patients, according to the study’s first author Tait Shanafelt, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Shanafelt and colleagues published an update from a three-year study evaluating burnout and work-life balance among U.S. physicians. They found more than half of U.S. physicians are professionally burned out — up 10% over the last three years. This is according to their comparison of data from 2014 to information collected in 2011. The survey results were based on 6,880 U.S. physicians, a 19% response rate, as well as a population-based sample of 5,313 working U.S. adults in other fields. The study’s results were particularly notable in dermatology, according to Dr. Shanafelt. Read more at Dermatology Times.