Medscape released its 2019 General Surgeon Lifestyle, Happiness & Burnout Report.
Medscape surveyed 15,069 U.S. physicians across more than 29 specialties to compile the report.
How general surgeons weighed in:
1. Only 27 percent of general surgeons said they were happy at work, which was lower than the percentage for plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists, oncologists and orthopedists.
2. Outside of work, 57 percent of general surgeons said they were very or extremely happy, taking the No. 5 spot on the list.
3. Forty-six percent of general surgeons said they were burned out, 12 percent said they were colloquially depressed and three percent said they were clinically depressed.
4. The most popular method for dealing with burnout is exercise at 44 percent, followed by isolation (42 percent), sleep (37 percent) and talking with close family and friends (33 percent).
5. General surgeons said too many bureaucratic tasks such as charting and paperwork (49 percent), along with lack of respect from administrators and others (42 percent) and insufficient compensation (36 percent), contributed the most to their burnout levels.