Career Fit and Burnout Among Academic Faculty

Abstract

The practice of medicine has the potential to be a tremendously fulfilling and meaningful endeavor. Physicians are responsible for caring for the nation's sick, promoting the public health, advancing the science of medicine, and passing the torch of knowledge to the next generation of physicians. Unfortunately, despite the value and importance of these pursuits, an expanding body of literature reports growing personal distress among physicians and a decrease in their satisfaction with the practice of medicine.^1-5 Specifically, numerous studies have documented high rates of burnout and poor mental health among US physicians and have suggested that physician distress can have a profound impact on patient quality of care as well as on a physician's personal health.^1,2,5-8