COVID Continues to Take a Toll on Neurologists' Well-being!
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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on the happiness, wellness and lifestyles of many segments of the population, but especially those in the healthcare field, including neurologists. The newly released Medscape Neurologist Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report 2022 explores neurologists’ level of happiness in their personal and professional lives and how they maintain their mental and physical health. Prior to the global pandemic, three quarters (75%) of neurologists reported they were "very" or "somewhat" happy outside of work, similar to physicians overall (81%). But as the pandemic wore on, feelings shifted and there are clear signs of stress and strain on those in the healthcare field. Now, the percentage of neurologists who say they are currently "very" or "somewhat" happy outside of work has dropped to 62%, about the same as physicians overall (59%). In last year's report, 42% of neurologists reported burnout; that's risen to 47% this year. When it comes to burnout, neurologists remain in the middle range of burned-out physicians. Perhaps not surprising given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout rates are highest in emergency medicine and critical care physicians.
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@sudeshna Often women assumed more of the childcare and home-schooling responsibilities in their households. As [a] result, we know that more women dropped out of the workforce. Also, past studies indicate that women are more likely to report feelings of burnout than men. The volume of bureaucratic tasks is the main driver of neurologist burnout, similar to that for physicians overall. Lack of control or autonomy, lack of respect from colleagues and more time devoted to electronic health records (EHRs) were also selected as major factors in this year’s report.