US doctors still bouncing back from COVID-era burnout
Physician burnout rates continue to fall, and the healthy trend comes alongside strong and stable rates of physician job satisfaction.
The American Medical Association trumpets the twin wins in an April amplification of data from its 2025 National Physician Comparison Report and AMA Organizational Biopsy project.
The group arrived at the findings upon analyzing almost 19,000 survey responses from physicians representing 106 health systems across 38 states.
In the April news post, filed under the topic of physician health, the AMA notes the slice of doctors reporting burnout last year—41.9%—was down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023.
In addition, physician job satisfaction remained stable at 77% from 2024 to 2025. This metric too suggests improvement, as it’s up from 72.1% in 2023 and 67.6% in 2022.
The AMA points out burnout rates peaked during COVID-19 and have been receding ever since.
This trend “suggests efforts to improve [physician] wellbeing are taking hold across the healthcare system,” comments AMA news editor Sara Berg. “After years of rising stress, administrative burden and workforce strain, even modest improvement points to the impact of sustained investments in physician support, workflow redesign and culture change.”
At the same time, Berg adds, “the data also underscores a critical reality: The work is far from finished.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.