Eighty-four percent of physician assistants are satisfied with their current job and the majority of physician assistants across all specialties reported no symptoms of burnout, according to a survey conducted by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
The "Statistical Profile of Board Certified PAs by Specialty" for 2022, published Aug. 4, surveyed 140,815 certified physician assistants across 24 specialties and primary care on demographic information, aspects of their work life and more.
Among all physician assistants, 32.2 percent reported experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout. Here is a breakdown of the physician assistants across 25 specialties who indicated they are experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout, starting with the specialty reporting the most burnout:
1. Emergency medicine (39.9 percent)
2. Critical care (38.3 percent)
3. Oncology (35.9 percent)
3. Hospital medicine (35.9 percent)
5. Family medicine (35.5 percent)
6. Primary care (34.8 percent)
7. Internal medicine (34.3 percent)
8. Gastroenterology (34.1 percent)
9. Psychiatry (33.2 percent)
10. Geriatrics (32.2 percent)
11. Neurology (31.8 percent)
12. Neurosurgery (31.4 percent)
13. Urology (30.2 percent)
14. Obstetrics and gynecology (29.7 percent)
15. Pain medicine (29.6 percent)
16. Pediatrics (29.4 percent)
17. Cardiothoracic and vascular surgery (29.1 percent)
17. Cardiology (29.1 percent)
19. General surgery (26.8 percent)
20. Orthopedic surgery (26.6 percent)
21. Occupational medicine (26 percent)
22. Otolaryngology (25.4 percent)
23. Plastic surgery (24.9 percent)
24. Dermatology (24.3 percent)
25. Physical medicine/rehabilitation (23.7 percent)