About 36% of physician assistants report feeling burnt out in 2024, down 1% from the year prior, according to Medscape's "Finding Renewed Resilience: Physician Assistant Burnout & Depression Report 2024," published Oct. 4.
Here are 11 additional things to know about PA burnout rates:
1. About 36% of PAs report feeling neither depressed or burnt out.
2. Over half of PAs, 57%, believe that feelings of burnout and depression are directly related to job stress.
3. Nearly half of PAs rate their burnout at a 4 or 5 out of 5, at 27% and 14%, respectively.
4. Over one-third of PAs, 37%, have experienced feelings of burnout in the last one to two years.
5. The top contributor to PA burnout is too many bureaucratic tasks, said 58%.
6. Over half of PAs, 67%, believe that feelings of burnout undercut their personal relationships.
7. Over half of PAs, 51%, feel as though their employers do not recognize burnout problems.
8. The top coping mechanism PAs use for burnout is exercise, said 57%.
9. Over half of PAs, 52%, believe that more compensation would help alleviate burnout.
10. Over half of PAs, 61%, report feeling colloquially depressed.
11. Job burnout is the leading cause of depression among PAs.