Vacation Days Taken, Work During Vacation, and Burnout Among US Physicians

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2813914?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=290064439&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_zfnmKgHzhwlUZFQuLTr7Ki1DQ9U7HhA0wvezOpJE0j9xeT7FQbcDNhseRzJhoKx5MVQuqfqUaUO4FIKZB1sNkU9qSxg&utm_content=290064439&utm_source=hs_email#:~:text=Findings%20In%20this%20cross%2Dsectional,with%20higher%20rates%20of%20burnout. Vacations are necessary medicine for burned-out doctors Few professions allow for as much vacation time as, say, an international pop star. But for doctors, a lack of vacation time — and then having to work anyway when they do take time off — is associated with higher rates of burnout, according to a new study published Friday in JAMA Network Open. Researchers performed a cross-sectional survey of doctors in the U.S. between 2020 and 2021. Among over 3,000 respondents, about 60% had taken fewer than 15 vacation days in the year prior. While on vacation, 70% found themselves working at least 30 minutes per day. Taking more vacation was, perhaps predictably, associated with less burnout among doctors. More specifically, so was getting a complete break from the electronic health record inbox — part of the job that many doctors have lamented. More institutional effort is needed to provide clinical coverage for doctors while on vacation, the researchers wrote. Burnout is a major problem in health care — in a First Opinion from 2020, Sudhakar Nuti wrote that she felt fundamentally changed by burnout: “I feel like I’ve gone from doctor to debris.” I worry that burnout can’t be reversed and has fundamentally changed me as a doctor and a person By Sudhakar NutiNov. 5, 2021 https://www.statnews.com/2021/11/05/has-burnout-fundamentally-changed-part-of-me-as-a-doctor/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=290064439&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Qb6POEep8ZJHgP6fXyY6vWRHs9tO9JosNyFu9diGBaHkkxBLSYM1V4x6zyfKn1y55oBv4aIrrbBhZLdvbDt1AIeml3Q&utm_content=290064439&utm_source=hs_email What will it take to end health care worker burnout? By Anika Nayak Oct. 26, 2023 https://www.statnews.com/2023/10/26/health-care-burnout/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=290064439&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9OBDYiZ1juWbw0FJSlZm5X-SloY_Hrpr0ZHbm2NSGtGgBM4MCuzp7SinQfab2EcgUWVk7FNcNFG6Q14o3h57QWr2A6XA&utm_content=290064439&utm_source=hs_email