Nearly 24 percent of physicians experienced workplace mistreatment in the past year, according to new research published May 6 in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from Boston Medical Center and Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine surveyed 1,505 physicians on the clinical faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine in September and October 2020 to assess the frequency and sources of mistreatment among physicians.
Noted limitations to the study include the binary gender classification for survey respondents and lack of assessment for frequency or severity of mistreatment experiences.
Three key findings:
- Patients and visitors were the most common source of mistreatment, reported by 16.6 percent of polled physicians.
- Women were more than twice as likely as men to experience mistreatment.
- On a scale of 0 to 10, mistreatment was associated with a 1.13 point increase in burnout, a 0.99 point decrease in professional fulfillment and 129 percent higher odds of moderate or greater intent to leave.