Are surgeons miserable?

A comprehensive survey confirms high risk for burnout among these trainees. Informal hospital culture has long considered surgical residents to be among the most overworked and generally unhappy employees.

Why are surgeons so unhappy?

The most obvious cause of doctors' unhappiness is that they feel overworked and undersupported. They hear politicians make extravagant promises but then must explain to patients why the health service cannot deliver what is promised.

Is it depressing being a surgeon?

Distress among surgeons can have serious manifestations, including anxiety, depression, divorce or broken relationships, alcoholism, substance abuse, and suicide. Unfortunately, many of these problems are more prevalent among surgeons and physicians compared with those who practice some other professions.

Are surgeons happy?

Surgeons are one of the happiest careers in the United States. At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, surgeons rate their career happiness 4.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 2% of careers.

What percent of surgeons are happy?

Before COVID-19 turned everyday life upside down, 82% of doctors reported they were largely happy outside of work, according to last year's survey. In the 2021 report, only 58% can say the same.

Why Are Doctors Miserable? | The BURNOUT Epidemic

What type of doctor is the happiest?

The Happiest Doctors

Rheumatologists -- specialists in arthritis, joints, muscles, and bones -- topped the list with an average self-reported happiness rating of 4.09. They were followed closely by dermatologists (4.06), urologists (4.04), ophthalmologists (4.03), and emergency medicine doctors (4.01).

Which specialty is the happiest?

Per Medscape's report, the happiest specialties at work were dermatology at number one, ophthalmology at number two, allergy and immunology at number three, followed by a three way tie between orthopedic surgery, psychiatry, and pulmonary medicine.

What personality type are surgeons?

Historically, personality profiling of surgeons (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) has favored the ESTJ personality type [extroversion (E), sensing (S), thinking (T), and judging (J)].

Is being a surgeon worth it?

Surgeons are compensated for nearly always being on call by their salaries. They are usually among the top earners in the medical field, making an average of $208,000 a year.

Is being a surgeon stressful?

Performing surgery is a very stressful occupation. Close to 8,000 doctors were surveyed and 501 reported thoughts of suicide during the previous year. However fears of admitting having an issue affecting their practices, doctors often self-prescribe medications or confide in colleagues for assistance off the record.

Why should you not be a surgeon?

Time-consuming. Not only do surgeons undergo up to 15 years (or more) of schooling and training, they often must work long hours, too. This can interfere with one's personal life, limiting the amount of time the surgeon has to spend with family and friends.

Is life as a surgeon hard?

Surgery is challenging, varied, and rewarding but also entails hard work and dedication. Many surgeons say they enjoy the intellectual challenges of their job and its quick results and active approach to the treatment of disease, which is almost unique in medicine.

Do surgeons have feelings?

Surgeons are human and experience emotions like anyone else — however, they are excellent at successfully carrying out a surgery despite these conflicted feelings.

Are most surgeons arrogant?

These are usually made from one medical professional to the other, in good fun. However, it seems the stereotype that surgeons are mean and arrogant is more serious, and is engrained in the minds of medical students, residents, and attendings from all specialties.

Are doctors in the 1%?

Medicine! You get to save lives and make bank all at once! One third of doctors overall, including about 58.6 percent of surgeons, are in the top one percent of earners. There are more doctors and surgeons in the top one percent than any other job category.

Why do surgeons have big egos?

Surgeons undergo the longest and most rigorous training. Residency teaches more than knowledge; it's about decision-making, leadership and technical skill. The environment is high stakes for teacher, patient and learner alike. That's where the surgical ego comes into play.

What are the cons of being a surgeon?

Do surgeons work 7 days a week?

A surgeon's shift may be anywhere from 12 to 28 hours long. In emergency situations or public health crises, their shifts may be longer. To make up for their long shifts, surgeons often work less than six days a week, with an average weekly schedule of four days.

Can you have a life as a surgeon?

Can you be a surgeon and have a rich and fulfilling life? You can, but it depends on how you define rich and fulfilling. Skeptical Scalpel is a retired surgeon and was a surgical department chairman and residency program director for many years.

Can an introvert be a surgeon?

In short, the answer is a resounding yes. According to the 2018 Medscape Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report, which surveyed more than 15,000 physicians in 29 specialties, 35 percent of physicians said that they leaned toward being introverted.

Are surgeons neurotic?

Five hundred and ninety-nine surgeons completed the survey. Analysis showed that surgeons scored significantly higher for conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and neuroticism than non-surgeons (P < 0.05).

Do surgeons like their patients?

We found that surgeons do not like their patients equally. Their feelings are associated with surgeon and patient characteristics, and with patient satisfaction. Our findings have important implications for surgeons seeking to improve care striving to enhance or maintain their own career satisfaction.

What surgeon has the best lifestyle?

The ROAD specialties, standing for radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology have historically been the best for those optimizing for lifestyle.

Which type of Surgeons are the happiest?

Do doctors have a social life?

Do they have good social lives? The basic answer is that they don't. You see how many doctors are married to nurses, paramedical experts, or other docs? That's because their social life outside the hospital during training was basically nonexistent.