A majority of U.S. cardiologists would accept a cut in pay to achieve a significantly better work-life balance, according to a new Medscape report. In addition, approximately three out of four cardiologists who are parents have negative feelings about how work impacts their relationships with their children.
The 2024 Medscape Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report, published back in February, included responses from more than 9,000 physicians across a wide range specialties. Three percent of those responses came from cardiologists, and their responses were used to create the 2024 Medscape Cardiologist Lifestyle and Happiness Report. All surveys were completed from July to October 2023.
Overall, 53% of cardiologists told Medscape they would take a reduced salary if it meant they could have a better work-life balance. Seventy-five percent said having more personal and family time was “very important,” and another 22% said it was “somewhat important.”
Among cardiologists with children, meanwhile, 43% said they feel “conflicted” or “very conflicted” about not spending enough time at home, and 33% of respondents said they feel “somewhat conflicted” about this part of the job.
“I feel like this is a perennial problem that boils down to a time issue,” Michael Ziffra, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with Northwestern University, said in the report. “We want to spend more time with our children, but it’s also built into us to always go the extra mile to take care of the patient’s needs.”
Another key takeaway from the new report was the fact that 86% of cardiologists said they have a happy marriage, one of the highest totals for any specialty. Only physicians in pulmonary medicine (91%), otolaryngology (90%), diabetes/endocrinology (90%), ophthalmology (89%), gastroenterology (87%) and neurology (87%) had higher totals, and the lowest percentages were seen in dermatology (70%) and oncology (74%).
Finally, 68% of respondents said they have spiritual/religious beliefs. Another 8% said they preferred not to answer.
According to Wayne M. Sotile, PhD, a clinical psychologist with the Center for Physician Resilience, these answers were “refreshing to see.”
“These are hard and complex times, and physicians need to have something bigger than themselves to hang onto,” he told Medscape.
View the full report here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.