The hours a physician spends on paperwork and administration per week do not necessarily align with burnout rates, according to a comparison of data from recent Medscape reports.
Overall, 53 percent of physicians reported experiencing burnout, according to Medscape's "Physician Burnout & Depression Report" for 2023.
Here are the average hours spent on administrative work by each specialty per week compared to their burnout levels. Data on hours worked comes from Medscape's "Physician Compensation Report" for 2023.
|
Specialty |
Hours spent on administrative tasks |
Burnout level |
|
Physical medicine and rehabilitation |
19 |
47% |
|
Internal medicine |
18 |
60% |
|
Oncology |
18 |
52% |
|
Neurology |
18 |
55% |
|
Nephrology |
18 |
44% |
|
Critical care |
18 |
55% |
|
Family medicine |
17 |
57% |
|
Psychiatry |
16 |
47% |
|
Diabetes and endocrinology |
16 |
51% |
|
Cardiology |
16 |
43% |
|
Pediatrics |
15 |
59% |
|
OB-GYN |
15 |
58% |
|
General surgery |
15 |
51% |
|
Otolaryngology |
14 |
49% |
|
Orthopedics |
14 |
45% |
|
Urology |
14 |
47% |
|
Emergency medicine |
13 |
65% |
|
Gastroenterology |
13 |
52% |
|
Dermatology |
11 |
49% |
|
Radiology |
11 |
54% |
|
Plastic surgery |
11 |
46% |
|
Ophthalmology |
10 |
48% |
|
Anesthesiology |
9 |
55% |