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A 2012 article in the Archives of Internal Medicine evaluated physician burnout and satisfaction among US physicians. The full article is available on line PMID 22911330. This was a large survey collecting data from more than 7000 physicians including nearly 200 pathologists (table 1). Figure 1 shows that pathology has a low rate of burnout compared to most other specialties. In fact, pathology was the 4th lowest in terms of reported burnout. There were also high scores on satisfaction that addressed the question of whether work leaves enough time for personal or family life (Figure 2).
One thing that was interesting is the correlation of the pathology data with preventative medicine. The 2012 AAMC physician specialty databook shows that preventative medicine has the highest percentage of active physicians over the age of 55 and pathology has the second highest percentage. Both groups also have low reported rates of burnout and high satisfaction with their professional lives.
Medical students considering a career in pathology should be aware that pathologists are satisfied with their jobs and report a low rate of burnout. It is probably very safe to say that the survey was not answered by most of the people who frequently post on SDN (please note sarcasm).
Daniel Remick, M.D.
Chair and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center
One thing that was interesting is the correlation of the pathology data with preventative medicine. The 2012 AAMC physician specialty databook shows that preventative medicine has the highest percentage of active physicians over the age of 55 and pathology has the second highest percentage. Both groups also have low reported rates of burnout and high satisfaction with their professional lives.
Medical students considering a career in pathology should be aware that pathologists are satisfied with their jobs and report a low rate of burnout. It is probably very safe to say that the survey was not answered by most of the people who frequently post on SDN (please note sarcasm).
Daniel Remick, M.D.
Chair and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center