Seventy-five percent of physicians were happy outside of work before the pandemic — that dropped to 58 percent after COVID-19.
The survey includes data from more than 9,100 physicians across 29 specialties, led by Medscape. It looked at physicians' mental health, happiness with family, burnout levels and more. As a result, nearly every specialty previously ranked by happiness has shifted in the rankings after the pandemic's effects.
Pulmonary medicine and pediatrics previously topped the list. Now, the two have dropped to 14th and 12th, respectively. Infectious diseases, which previously sat at 18th on the list, is now at the very bottom.
Here's how 29 specialties rank in order of happiness now versus prior to the pandemic:
- Plastic Surgery — previously 12th
- Public health and preventive medicine — previously 20th
- Orthopedics — previously third
- Otolaryngology — previously 13th
- Urology — previously 24th
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation — previously 17th
- Ophthalmology — previously ninth
- Dermatology — previously 11th
- Pathology — previously seventh
- Gastroenterology — previously 16th
- Radiology — previously sixth
- Pediatrics — previously second
- Surgery — previously 21st
- Pulmonary medicine — previously first
- Nephrology — previously 26th
- Diabetes and endocrinology — previously 23rd
- Psychiatry — previously 22nd
- Anesthesiology — previously eighth
- OB-GYN — previously 14th
- Internal Medicine — previously 15th
- Family Medicine — previously 10th
- Cardiology — previously 19th
- Emergency medicine — previously fourth
- Critical care — previously 5th
- Allergy and immunology — previously 27th
- Neurology — previously 28th
- Oncology — previously 25th
- Rheumatology — previously 29th
- Infectious diseases — previously 18th