Med school blues: 45% of students feel burned out

Feeling overworked is common among physicians, but even those still pursuing their medical degrees are more likely to suffer from burnout.

At the 2016 interim meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA), Michael Tutty, PhD, vice president of the AMA’s Professional Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability group, spoke about the differences between physicians' and medical students’ feelings of exhaustion.  

For practicing doctors, it’s the extra burden of administrative work, regulations and the advent of electronic health records. Most physicians, according to Tutty, feel most satisfied doing what they were trained to do—caring for patients.

The training, however, is what wears down students. Tutty said 45 percent of medical school students feel the same kind of burnout reported by practicing physicians. If physician surveys are any indication, the exhaustion will only get worse after leaving school—the latest survey from the Physicians Foundation found 80 percent of doctors feel overextended or at capacity.

So how can those students avoid those feelings, particularly when they’re likely to feel even more overworked after graduation? Small groups at the AMA meeting came up with several recommendations:

• Exercise, meditate, eat and sleep. Meeting attendees said getting proper rest may be more valuable than an all-night cram session before big tests.
• Talk with and support friends. Students shouldn’t be afraid to tell others they’re exhausted.
• Take advantage of schools’ support systems. Many medical schools have wellness programs tailored to their students and helping learn how to deal with the stress that comes with the profession.