Among ob.gyns. who reported burnout in the past year, 82% say they felt burned out before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, according the Medscape Obstetrician & Gynecologist Lifestyle, Happiness, & Burnout Report.
The past year brought unusual challenges to physicians in all specialties in different ways.
“Whether on the front lines of treating COVID-19 patients, pivoting from in-person to virtual care, or even having to shutter their practices, physicians faced an onslaught of crises, while political tensions, social unrest, and environmental concerns probably affected their lives outside of medicine,” wrote Keith L. Martin and Mary Lyn Koval, both of Medscape Business of Medicine, in the introduction to the report.
Although more physicians said their burnout began prior to the pandemic, 81% of ob.gyns. reported that they were happy outside of work prior to the pandemic. However, those reporting happiness outside of work dropped to 57% after the pandemic started.
“One does not have to do a ‘deep dive’ to understand the top reasons reported for burnout,” said Mark P. Trolice, MD, director of Fertility CARE: The IVF Center in Winter Park, Fla., and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, in an interview. “Many conversations I have with colleagues are about the frustration of learning and managing electronic health records, insurance reimbursements, and a work-life balance. In addition, more physician practices are being purchased by hospitals or private-equity networks [that are] reducing and/or eliminating the autonomy of physicians.
“While all [respondents] exhibited a dramatic decline in ‘happiness’ prepandemic, compared with our current situation, ob.gyns. were no exception,” he added.
Burnout and suicidal thoughts
Overall, 26% of ob.gyn. survey respondents reported being burned out, 6% reported being depressed, and 18% reported being both burned out and depressed. Of those who reported burnout, 52% said burnout had “a strong or severe impact on my life,” while 20% reported a moderate impact and 28% reported little or no impact.
More than half (56%) of ob.gyns. who reported either depression or burnout said they had not sought professional help, although 17% reported receiving professional care in the past.
The main reason given for not seeking professional help was that burnout and depressive symptoms were not severe enough to merit it, according to 50% of respondents who reported burnout or depression but were not seeking help. In addition, 43% said they were too busy to seek help, 36% said they could deal with their symptoms without professional help, and 24% said they did not want to risk disclosure of their symptoms.
The most common cause of burnout was an overload of bureaucratic tasks, reported by 52% of respondents, followed by “lack of respect from administrators/employers, colleagues, or staff” (43%), and insufficient compensation or reimbursement (39%).
Notably, 19% of ob.gyns. reported suicidal thoughts, and 1% said they had attempted suicide.
“The most concerning statistic from this survey was in reference to suicidal ideation,” said Dr. Trolice. “Approximately one in five ob.gyns. have contemplated suicide, compared with 4.8% of adults age 18 and older in the U.S. reporting in 2019.”
Dr. Trolice said he was not surprised that relatively few ob.gyns. sought help for mental health issues. “Physicians are very private and usually do not seek help from colleagues, presumably from hubris. While this is unfortunate, all hospitals and health care organization should implement regular assessments of physicians’ health to ensure optimal performance from a professional and personal basis.”