Continuing Certification Research
Published: Burnout in Diplomates of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation–Prevalence and Potential Drivers: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Survey
Summary by James A Sliwa DO
Physician burnout has become a topic of growing concern over the last several years. This is especially true for PM&R, which consistently ranks as one of the most “burned out” medical specialties. This study surveyed 8,825 American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation diplomates to determine the prevalence and potential drivers of burnout in PM&R. The survey consisted of demographic and practice information, the Mini-Z Burnout Survey, one question from the Maslach Burnout Scale on callousness towards patients, and several questions regarding potential drivers of burnout in physician practice.
We received 1,536 surveys back for a response rate of 17.4%. Of these, 770 (50.7%) met the definition of burnout. Only 38% of physiatrists reported not becoming more callous towards patients. The three reasons most commonly cited as causes of burnout by physiatrists were:
- increasing regulatory demands,
- work load and job demands, and
- practice inefficiency and lack of resources.
Higher burnout rates were associated with high reported levels of job stress and working more hours per week. There was no significant association between burnout and sex, years in practice, practice focus, or practice area.
We concluded that burnout is a significant problem among PM&R physicians and appears to be pervasive throughout the specialty. Opportunities to address major contributors of burnout for PM&R physicians do exist and are to some degree under the control of practitioners, hospital leaders and administrators.
Click on the link below to read the abstract or download the full article.
Sliwa JA, Clark GS, Chiodo A, Kinney CL, Raddatz MM, Francisco GE, Micheo W, Robinson LR. Burnout in diplomates of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation–prevalence and potential drivers: a prospective cross-sectional survey. PM&R. 2019;11(1):83-89. doi: 10.1016/j.pmrj.2018.07.013
