Actual stats on physician lifestyles

[jarmen]

So, i constantly hear and read conflicting statistics regarding doctors. For example, iv heard that doctors have a one of the highest rates of suicide and lowest... highest job satisfaction and lowest... most drug use and least... highest rates of infidelity and lowest

My googleing has turned up unreliable answers and i was wondering if anyone could provide.

The topics i could think of off the top of my head are:

1) Suicide rates
2) Drug use
3) Job satisfaction
4) Infidelity
5) Divorce rates
6) avrg hours/days worked per week (not in residency, and im aware that this is very relative to specialty and career choices)
7) depression
8) turnover rates (both between institutions and changing professions entirely)

feel free to suggest any other that you may think of. I am looking for statistics NOT anecdotal evidence. PLEASE keep this thread free of useless arguments based on your personal experience which im sure vary widely.


EDIT: ppl cant seem to get past the misstype on google...

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[DeadCactus]

Statistics are of no more use than anecdotes to the average person...

 

[jarmen]

Well i don’t intent to use it to predict how my life will go... just out of curiosity particularly because iv found very little consensus

 

[DeadCactus]

Well, good luck with the goggling.

 

[Davydude7]

Well, good luck with the goggling.

Is goggling even legal in the United States?

 

[DeadCactus]

Is goggling even legal in the United States?

Only if she agrees or never finds out...

 

[savant]

Is goggling even legal in the United States?

No it is not

 

[deleted74029]

How many of you guys had these in your labs...

 

[dw2158]

How many of you guys had these in your labs...

oh man, this brings back hardcore memories of having to go to my fifth period spanish class with HUGE red goggle marks on my face so everyone knew i was in the nerdy fourth period chem class. sigh.

 

[redsquareblack]

Statistics are of no more use than anecdotes to the average person...

I dunno, I daresay statistics are of a bit more use than anecdotes, no?

 

[Law2Doc]

So, i constantly hear and read conflicting statistics regarding doctors. For example, iv heard that doctors have a one of the highest rates of suicide and lowest... highest job satisfaction and lowest... most drug use and least... highest rates of infidelity and lowest

My googleing has turned up unreliable answers and i was wondering if anyone could provide.

The topics i could think of off the top of my head are:

1) Suicide rates
2) Drug use
3) Job satisfaction
4) Infidelity
5) Divorce rates
6) avrg hours/days worked per week (not in residency, and im aware that this is very relative to specialty and career choices)
7) depression
8) turnover rates (both between institutions and changing professions entirely)

feel free to suggest any other that you may think of. I am looking for statistics NOT anecdotal evidence. PLEASE keep this thread free of useless arguments based on your personal experience which im sure vary widely.


EDIT: ppl cant seem to get past the misstype on google...

I doubt you are going to find all those statistics in one place, and a lot of them don't have reliable data. Drug use is higher than the general population (due to access), as is divorce. Hours worked is above average, and across specialties I've seen quotes of about 60 hours/week. Job satisfaction is lower than many fields, according to some of the popular magazines. Turnover rates of changing professions is nearly nil -- high student debt, very long training and a lack of being qualified for another path make this a very atypical move compared to other paths. I'm not aware that depression or infidelity rates are different than the population at large, notwithstanding what you see on Grey's Anatomy.

 

[sirius08]

I found some interesting empirical studies that bear on the question of physician satisfaction:

[SIZE=-1]www.gpscholar.uthscsa.edu/gpscholar/FacultyScholars/cr/genmed/library/aimvol162pg1577.pdf
[/SIZE]
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/291/5/634

 

[atomi]

Drug use is higher than the general population (due to access).

I doubt that it's due to access.

 

[jarmen]

I found some interesting empirical studies that bear on the question of physician satisfaction:

[SIZE=-1]www.gpscholar.uthscsa.edu/gpscholar/FacultyScholars/cr/genmed/library/aimvol162pg1577.pdf[/SIZE]

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/291/5/634

Both of these are on point, nice
EDIT: had a question regarding the ratios cited in the results of the first one but after re-reading i understood

 

[Law2Doc]

I doubt that it's due to access.

Actually it is (or at least that's what med schools are teaching med students). Drugs of abuse tend to be different for hospital workers than what folks on the street use.

 

[BrainBuff]

I doubt that it's due to access.

Actually, it is due to access. Several studies have shown that. Anesthesiologists have the highest rate from all medial specialties. Psychiatrists have the highest suicide rate. Not surprising at all...

 

[WannaBePreMed]

How many of you guys had these in your labs...

I had these in like 8th grade haha

We always mad fun of carol... lol

 

[Sangria]

i've read somewhere that the suicide rate might seem higher than the general population, the attempt rate may be the same; physicians are just more successful

 

[iduwanna]

Is goggling even legal in the United States?

No it is not

You're link is about "China and other countries." Stop trolling.

 

[sirius08]

A 1999 report regarding the career satisfaction of US women physicians:

archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/159/13/1417.pdf

 

[mbe36]

Wow, that "safety" poster is crule.

 

[savant]

You're link is about "China and other countries." Stop trolling.

My bad. At worst, I thought it was a bad pun. Oh well.

 

[jarmen]

A 1999 report regarding the career satisfaction of US women physicians:

archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/159/13/1417.pdf

nice, career satisfaction seems to be well documented in the US.
Im curious though, is there a significant difference in career satisfaction between the US and Europe?