
How Readily Do Physicians Switch Careers?
Is the COVID-19 burnout enough to make some physicians step away from medicine?
What does
More Than One Dream
“I have shed a tear or two for my life and career. At the same time, you have to keep moving forward. My dream has always been, and will always be, to be a singer. But now I have more than one dream.”
These are the soulful words of baritone
Among psychiatrists, career fluctuation has been discussed since before the COVID-19 global health crisis. Yet, according to medical search engines and occupational databases, few in medicine are documented to have made a career pivot like Mr LaBrie. It is not uncommon to see doctors burning the candle at both ends. One example is Sir Charles Tupper, MD, the renowned 19th-century Canadian physician and first president of the Canadian Medical Association, who left his medical career to become the Canadian prime minister.2 However, large scale studies looking at doctors who have expanded their career or opted out of medicine are scarce.
Our interest stems in part from wishing to understand how physicians have navigated their professional paths, but a seed of curiosity was also planted several years ago during a workshop on professional
Witness a recent survey on burnout among 2084 psychiatrists conducted by Richard F. Summers, MD, and colleagues.3 Depression, female gender, and workplace stressors were identified as risk factors for burnout, but study respondents had been de-identified, suggesting residual burnout
Two years ago, our team looked at
Due to the small sample size, our findings are briefly summarized and presented in
Here are some of the findings:
- Twenty-six out of the 126 anonymously surveyed physicians completed the survey. The majority were psychiatrists, and over 80% were in middle to late career. While 73% cited a higher calling as the reason for entering medicine, only 50% reported professional satisfaction within their career. All but 1 retained medicine and/or psychiatry as their sole career. Despite unmet career expectations, respondents remained as doctors.
- Electronic medical records and administrative overburdening were ranked as the most bothersome workplace stressors, followed by long work hours and fear of being sued. Board maintenance requirements and feeling professionally undervalued fell comparatively lower as career stressors.
- Respondents commented on professional happiness and career decisions. They expressed gratitude for the opportunity to express their opinions and wrote many comments, perhaps the most compelling aspect of the study.
- Only 2 respondents were unconditionally supportive of physicians expanding their career outside of medicine. The rest were supportive of a balanced lifestyle, but not necessarily leaving the practice of medicine.
Measures of career satisfaction among physicians have yielded comparable findings elsewhere. A prospective survey of South Dakota physicians showed that over 40% of both male and female respondents were not satisfied with their
Within our sample, a sense of calling, the status of being a doctor, and financial security were judged protective, even with unmet career expectations. Moreover, respondents are inferred to have felt settled on multiple levels—professionally, financially, and perhaps being in closer proximity to retirement rather than a new start.
The major limitation of our study is the regrettably low response rate. As such, we believe important questions remain. For instance, should burnout be conceptualized as episodic or chronic, and if episodic, what factors promote its resolution? It would be useful to further document burnout-related career decisions longitudinally from
A final point is that the 40% estimate of burnout and depression among physicians has recently received pushback. One research group contests this statistic, suggesting that it may be inflated. Moreover, the group suggests that the persistent publicity over burnout has become self-defeating, resulting in many physicians, who happen to love what they do, including the long hours, to feel work-shamed.7
Dr Sofair practices psychiatry in northern New Jersey. She is affiliated with Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System. Stephanie Chiu is a biostatistician and research manager affiliated with the Atlantic Center for Research, Atlantic Health System.
The authors would also like to acknowledge and thank Laura Logiudice, Esq; Yi Zhou, MLIS; Denise Sikora, AAS, MLT.
References
1. Woolfe Z. Two friends, two continents, very different pandemics. New York Times. January 13, 2021. Accessed May 11, 2021.
2. Murray TJ. Serving two masters: the medical and political careers of Sir Charles Tupper. CMAJ. 2017;189(25):E866-E868.
3. Moran M. Burnout appears highly prevalent among psychiatrists, survey finds. Psychiatric News. August 18, 2020.
4. Berlin J. No escape: COVID-19 continues to exacerbate physician burnout. Tex Med. 2021;117(2):16-21.
5. Clemen NM, Blacker BC, Floen MJ, et al. Work-life balance in women physicians in South Dakota: results of a state-wide assessment survey. SD Med. 2018;71(12):550-558.
6. Dyrbye LN, Varkey P, Boone SL, et al. Physician satisfaction and burnout at different career stages. Mayo Clin Proc. 2013:88(12):1358-1367.
7. Sotile WM, Fallon R, Orlando J. Curbing burnout hysteria with self-compassion: a key to physician resilience. J Pediatr Orthop. 2020;40 Suppl 1:S8-S12.
Newsletter
Receive trusted psychiatric news, expert analysis, and clinical insights — subscribe today to support your practice and your patients.