Compared with their colleagues, cardiologists are in the middle when it comes to happiness both in and outside the workplace, according to Medscape’s 2020 Lifestyle, Happiness, and Burnout Report.
About 28% of cardiologists reported that they were very happy in the workplace, according to the Medscape report, with dermatologists taking the top spot at 41%; 51% of cardiologists said that they were very happy outside of work, 9 percentage points behind rheumatologists at 60%.
The burnout rate for cardiologists was 29%, well below the 41% average for all physicians. About 15% of cardiologists reported that they were both burned out and depressed. An overabundance of bureaucratic tasks was the most commonly reported contributing factor to burnout at 64%, followed by spending too many hours at work at 39% and increased usage of EHRs at 33%.
Cardiologists most commonly dealt with burnout by exercising (45%), talking with friends/family (43%), and isolating themselves from others (42%). In addition, 47% of cardiologists reported taking 3-4 weeks of vacation, slightly more than the 44% average for all physicians; only 29% said they had taken less than 3 weeks’ vacation.
About 10% of cardiologists said that they’d contemplated suicide and 1% reported that they’d attempted it; 83% reported that they’d never thought about suicide. Only 10% of cardiologists reported that they were either currently seeking help or were planning to seek professional help for symptoms of burnout and/or depression, while 76% said they had no plans to consult help and had not done so in the past.
The Medscape survey was conducted from June 25 to Sept. 19, 2019, and involved 15,181 physicians.