Good, I got you to click. We all believe that allergists are number one, but it is great to hear a recent survey showed it, too. Medscape just recently released their Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report for 2022. More than 10,000 physicians in over 29 specialties took part in the survey. In one of the questions, they asked which specialists have the happiest marriages. Allergists were the highest at 91%, tied with ENTs. The lowest were the Plastic Surgeons at 75%. With the COVID pandemic into year three, examining what has happened to happiness in marriage is important regarding physician well-being. Eight of out 10 physicians stated that they were in a “very good” or good marriage, which was about the same as in the 2021 survey. In the current survey, 85% of men and 70% of women were married.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the survey. One-fifth of all physicians, both male and female, take five or more weeks of vacation each year. With the demand on physicians and the increase in burnout in all specialties, I would hope a higher percentage of doctors take five or more weeks of vacation time per year in the future. We all need more time to recharge our batteries. Whether this is good or bad I am not really sure, but 37% of physicians spend 11 hours or more per week on the internet for personal use. A majority spend 10 or more nonworking hours surfing the web. This compares to other surveys that show the average American spends almost seven hours a week on the Internet.
What about use of alcohol and cannabis? We have read the news on increased consumption of alcohol during the COVID pandemic. A study performed in 2020 of US adults found 61% stating they consumed more alcohol during COVID compared to pre-COVID due to stress, increased alcohol availability, and boredom (Grossman ER, et al. Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey of US Adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(24):9189). The Medscape survey found one-third of physicians had three or more alcoholic drinks per week, with a higher rate in male physicians. These numbers were slightly lower than the 2021 report. With more and more states legalizing cannabis, it is worth looking at physicians’ use of this recreational drug and CBD. Two percent were currently using it, with 4% saying they would if it became legal in their state (no change from 2021).
Lastly, the result that I found the most disturbing was the general effect that the pandemic has had on overall physician happiness outside of work. Only 6 in 10 said they are “very” or “somewhat” happy. These numbers have continued to go down since COVID, with last year’s results showing 8 out of 10 physicians were “very” or “somewhat” happy. There was virtually no difference between men and women clinicians in the question. Will these numbers get better when we get past COVID, or are there more reasons for the high degree of unhappiness? I believe that the changes occurring in practice are not only affecting our happiness with work, but also outside of work. We need to address these issues and find answers before we lose more and more of our colleagues to burnout and mental health disorders. This should be a priority for all physician professional organizations along with state medical boards.
There is more in this survey that you can review. It is clear to me that physicians must spend more time on their health and wellness. To quote Robert Wah, MD, former AMA President, “The most important patient we have to take care of is the one in the mirror.”
