Nearly half of all surgeons have considered leaving the profession due to burnout
A majority of surgeons experience feelings of burnout, according to a new survey from Johnson & Johnson MedTech. In fact, one in five surgeons say they frequently experience such feelings.
If those numbers were not eye-opening enough, the survey also found that 43% of surgeons have considered leaving surgery altogether. Among surgeons who have experienced feelings of burnout, that number jumps to 65%.
For this new survey, Johnson & Johnson MedTech gathered feedback from more than 1,500 surgeons who practice in the United States, U.K., Brazil, Germany and Japan. The group represented a mix of specialists from the fields of cardiac surgery, bariatric surgery, colorectal surgery, orthopedic surgery and thoracic surgery.
“Surgeons are expert scientists and clinicians who are deeply passionate about helping patients, so to have surgeons considering leaving the field due to burnout signals a growing risk about the sustainability of surgical care,” Hani Abouhalka, company group chairman of surgery at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, said in a statement. “Burnout is an unfortunately common and deeply human experience in healthcare, and we believe that bringing the experiences of surgeons further into the open is a critical step toward fully understanding the challenge and better serving the people behind surgery.”
A closer look at burnout among surgeons
Diving deeper into the data, the survey also found that just 36% of surgeons said they believe they have positive mental health. While 48% of surgeons said trying to spend enough time with family was a significant source of stress, a similar number pointed to administrative burdens (47%) and the long hours of the job (44%) as common reasons for these feelings.
Another key takeaway was the fact that 82% of surgeons report feeling emotional distress or self-doubt in the face of poor patient outcomes. In addition, 66% said they feel that patient care is sometimes compromised due to “systemic pressures.”
“Surgeon burnout is not a personal failing—it’s a complex system challenge,” Africa Wallace, MD, a veteran cardiothoracic surgeon herself and vice president of medical affairs for Johnson & Johnson MedTech, explained in the same statement. “The surgeons, healthcare leaders and technologists we engage with on this issue all believe there is more to be done and are eager to step up, work together, and find solutions so that surgeons can sustain their work and more often find joy in the science of surgical care.”
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Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.