Physician Burnout

SAN ANTONIO — In the Presidential Address at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting, Sunanda V. Kane, MD, announced a new initiative in telemedicine for gastroenterology providers and congratulated her peers on their concrete achievements for the year.

Family medicine doctors who practiced in rural areas were less likely to experience burnout than those who practiced in medium-sized and metropolitan areas, according to survey results.

Although physician burnout is associated with poor quality of care, the effects of burnout on patient care may have been exaggerated in some studies, according to findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting was held in Paris in September. Healio.com/OSN was there covering all the top news and presentations.

PARIS — Nearly 70% of surgeons suffer from chronic stress, yet stress perception and management are underacknowledged in the surgical community, according to an internal medicine specialist who spoke on the topic at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Two studies published recently in Pediatrics highlighted female pediatricians’ work-life imbalance and unequal pay compared with their male peers.

Many medical directors said they believe that physician burnout is a problem in their division and cite inherent work characteristics as a contributing factor to the issue, a recent qualitative survey suggests.

Burnout and occupational stress are quite common among physicians and is considered, by many leading experts, to be a “ public health crisis.”