In this year's Medscape burnout survey, radiology was toward the top at 49% (despite having one of the lowest burnout rates at 36% last year). They also appear to be some of the least happy outside of work, despite its "chill" reputation. Can most of this be attributed to churn and burn private practices specifically, or has radiology just legitimately become one of the most stressful and least happy specialties across the board?
Medscape Radiologist Burnout Survey
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In this year's Medscape burnout survey, radiology was toward the top at 49% (despite having one of the lowest burnout rates at 36% last year). They also appear to be some of the least happy outside of work, despite its "chill" reputation. Can most of this be attributed to churn and burn private practices specifically, or has radiology just legitimately become one of the most stressful and least happy specialties across the board?
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I think the primary contribution is from a feeling of lack of professional autonomy and respect. We feel out of control when drowning in the worklist, having limited ability to reject unindicated studies, and having less contact with referrers to sustain feelings of professional respect. Probably the ethos of churn and burn private practices contributes to this - you want high volume, you work longer hours or cut corners on reports, you don't care about the appropriateness, you spend less time cultivating cross-specialty relationships or don't even have a physical presence at the hospitals you service.
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Def lack of respect and lack of control. Other doctors order imaging like it's a lab test. I don't feel like a consultant, I just feel like I'm part of the workflow of other doctors' care.
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I really don’t mind it so long as there is time to think about the question being asked, but reimbursement cuts year over year force radiologists into the technical niche of spitting out findings only. Sometimes the list is so large there is no time to form a cohesive impression.
High volume 10-12 hour call shifts (typically weekends/evenings) when lists are long and staffing is thin. Expected to stay on until all studies from your shift have been dictated. Cases piled up plus having to answer the phone for inane reasons, sometimes being paired with a slow colleague making it difficult to even feel comfortable taking a bathroom break, much less time for lunch. This is what burnout is all about. I found this out, was lucky to find a less hectic position and haven’t looked back. Some thrive on the above esp. if pay depends on productivity. Know thyself.
