AMA says physician burnout rate drops below 50% for first time since 2020

Physician burnout was a long-standing issue prior to the pandemic, but COVID-19 greatly amplified the problem and accelerated the number of physicians leaving practices, switching jobs and taking early retirement. The American Medical Association (AMA) tracks burnout in annual surveys, which showed it skyrocketing to a record-high of 62.8% in 2021. However, the latest data from the AMA shows physician burnout has now fallen below 50% for the first time since 2020.

“This is moving in the right direction. Overall, this signals that reported levels of burnout from this group of respondents is less than it was last year” and in other years after COVID-19, explained Nancy Nankivil, director of organizational well-being at the AMA in a statement.

The latest survey, called the AMA Organizational Biopsy, included more than 12,400 responses from physicians across 31 states from 81 organizations collected between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023. The AMA national physician comparison report reflects 2023 trends in six key performance indicators, including 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.

The AMA said the purpose of the aggregated data is to provide a national summary of organizational physician well-being and to serve as a comparison for other healthcare organizations. The results may be limited by the health systems that chose to participate. 

In 2023, 48.2% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout. This is down from 53% in the 2022 survey results. 

The AMA added this shift marks a milestone in the ongoing battle against physician burnout, but the fight is far from over. The physician organization said while statistics are improving, continued efforts are essential to address the root causes of physician burnout and ensure that doctors receive the support they need to thrive.

“It is critical for executive leaders to maintain a commitment to organizational well-being,” Nankivil said. “We cannot improve what we are not measuring, so assessing system drivers of well-being through a validated and consistent tool is important.”

She stressed the importance for organizations and physician leaders to tap into these AMA resources and best practices so enable meaningful workplace change and to have a better understanding of where to invest resources.

The AMA also announced other key performance indicators of physician well-being highlighted in newest survey report.

Healthcare job satisfaction improved

Between 2022 and 2023, physicians’ job satisfaction rose from 68% to 72.1%. The AMA national physician comparison report also provided insights into variations across gender, physician specialty and years in practice. 

There was a drop in reported job stress

The AMA said physicians continue to experience job stress, but it has declined. In 2023, 50.7% expressed feeling a great deal of stress because of their job, down from 55.6% in 2022.

The AMA said more than a quarter of respondents said they did not have enough physicians and support staff, which is a key factor in stress levels. There was an ongoing need for more nurses, medical assistants or documentation assistance to reduce physician workload. 

Another long-time known factor for physician stress and burnout is too many administrative tasks and less focus on clinical care. In the most recent survey, 12.7% of respondents indicated this was a primary cause of their stress. The lack of support staff, time and payment for administrative work also increases physicians’ job stress, the AMA said.

“We are seeing differences among organizations that have been focused on interventions to drive positive changes in workflow or workload such as improving inbox management or redesigning workflows to optimize team delegation,” Nankivil said.