Like many physicians, gastroenterologists face challenges in the workplace that lead to burnout and dissatisfaction.
To dive into these issues, Medscape polled 15,181 physicians in 29 specialties on burnout, lifestyle and happiness.
Ten insights on gastroenterologists:
Gastroenterologist burnout
1. Twenty six percent of gastroenterologists said they felt burned out, lower than the 41 percent burnout rate for physicians overall.
2. Gastroenterologists said bureaucratic tasks such as charting and paperwork contributed the most to burnout, followed by EHRs (39 percent) and spending too many hours at work (28 percent).
3. Exercise was the top way gastroenterologists said they cope with burnout (52 percent), followed by isolation from others (50 percent), talking with family and close friends (42 percent), sleeping (37 percent) and playing and listening to music (34 percent).
4. Fifteen percent of gastroenterologists said they're seeking professional help for depression or burnout, and 64 percent said they don't plan to seek help and have not sought professional care.
5. Fifty-three percent said they felt they could deal with burnout without the help of a professional, and 45 percent said they felt their symptoms weren't bad enough to seek help.
Work and lifestyle
6. Twenty three percent of gastroenterologists said they were happy at work, putting them toward the bottom of the list compared with other specialties such as dermatology (41 percent) or ophthalmology (39 percent).
7. Gastroenterologists placed low for happiness outside of work as well, with 49 percent saying they were happy outside of the workplace, compared to rheumatologists (60 percent) or public health physicians (59 percent).
8. Forty-nine percent of gastroenterologists said they take three to four weeks of vacation per year, while 24 percent said they take one to two weeks of vacation.
9. The most common type of car driven by gastroenterologists was Lexus (17 percent), followed by Toyota (15 percent) and Mercedes-Benz (11 percent).
10. Forty-two percent of gastroenterologists said they sometimes spend enough time on their personal health and wellness, while 32 percent said they do most of the time and 20 percent said they rarely do.