Thirty percent of pediatricians in the first 10 years of their career reported experiencing burnout in a survey. The results were analyzed by researchers and the findings were recently published in Pediatrics.
The 2013 survey included responses from 840 pediatricians who had completed residencies between 2002 and 2004. Of the respondents, 83 percent reported career satisfaction. That number dropped to 71 percent when asked about life satisfaction and 43 percent when asked if they felt they had appropriate work-life balance, and 30 percent reported feeling burned out. Good health, support from colleagues and sufficient resources for patient care were all found to be linked with reduced occurrence of burnout and higher likelihood of work-life balance and career and life satisfaction.
The study's authors conclude that because the survey highlights the primary contributing factors for career and life satisfaction in pediatricians in the early stages of their careers, strategies should be developed to encourage peer support, health supervision and the availability of adequate clinical resources within these communities.