Fifty-six percent of millennial physicians providing at least 20 hours per week of patient care said they were unhappy with the current state of medicine, according to a survey conducted by the American Medical Association.
The AMA, in partnership with online physician panel M3 Global Research, surveyed 200 physicians age 35 and younger on a variety of issues, including administrative burdens, career aspirations, the role of technology in medicine and overall work-life balance. The findings concluded younger physicians are increasingly dissatisfied with tasks that inhibit their ability to interact with their patients.
Here are six takeaways from the survey.
1. Thirty-four percent of respondents said the reality of practicing medicine is worse than what they had anticipated.
2. Despite their frustrations, 83 percent said they are committed to their medical careers and actively want to contribute to the field over the course of their working lives.
3. Roughly four out of five individuals surveyed said they hope to seek out non-patient care-related fields potentially in addition to their full-time work.
4. Forty-two percent of millennial physicians surveyed listed entrepreneurial endeavors among their career aspirations, followed by healthcare consulting (41 percent), health system executive leadership roles (34 percent) and academic research (19 percent).
5. Roughly 62 percent of physicians cited the use of EHRs as imperative in providing quality patient care.
6. Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said maintaining a work-life balance was important, but only 65 percent said they felt they had achieved a proper balance between the two at this point in their careers.