Physician specialties with the highest burnout rates (2024)

Emergency medicine physicians are the most burnt out physician specialists for the second year in a row, with 63% experiencing burnout, according to Medscape's 2024 "Physician Burnout and Depression Report," published Jan. 24.

For the report, Medscape polled 9,226 practicing U.S. physicians across more than 29 specialties from July 5 to Oct. 9.

Here are 25 physician specialties and the corresponding percentages of burnt-out practitioners:

Emergency medicine: 63%

OB-GYN: 53%

Oncology: 53%

Pediatrics: 51%

Family medicine: 51%

Radiology: 51%

Pulmonary medicine: 50%

Anesthesiology: 50%

Gastroenterology: 50%

Internal medicine: 50%

Urology: 49%

Cardiology: 47%

Nephrology: 46%

Physical medicine and rehabilitation: 46%

Dermatology: 46%

Critical care: 45%

General surgery: 45%

Diabetes and endocrinology: 44%

Neurology: 44%

Orthopedics: 44%

Otolaryngology: 43%

Pathology: 41%

Psychiatry: 39%

Ophthalmology: 39%

Plastic surgery: 37%

Physician specialties with the highest burnout rates (2024)
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