U.S. News & World Report recently released its rankings of the top healthcare jobs in 2024, and no physician specialty made the top seven.
U.S. News formulated its rankings using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that examined each job's future prospects, salary potential, employment rates, work-life balance and stability. The full methodology can be found here.
The highest-ranking physician role was oral and maxillofacial surgeon, which earned the eighth spot on the list. The rankings are in line with growing levels of burnout, career dissatisfaction and unhappiness among physicians of all specialties.
Nurse practitioner took the top spot on the list.
With medicine facing a potential shortage of 124,000 physicians by 2034, changes need to be made to ensure the health of physicians and patients.
Shaibal Mazumdar, MD, a gastroenterologist at Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, joined Becker's to share strategies that could alleviate the load physicians are facing.
"With strained resources, it's important to tweak the process," Dr. Mazumdar said. "Physicians and nurse practitioners are collective resources, and we strive to work at the top of our license with good communication. EMR helps along with telehealth. It is also important to innovate with newer technologies related to artificial intelligence in order to get rid of excessive added activities — to do more with less.
"Curbside consults with referring physicians when you are connected through EMR also helps to make sure patients get timely access to good care.
"Recruitment and retention should be a top strategic priority. It's important to have leadership and a culture where employees are respected, appreciated and valued and that encourages critical thinking. We are constantly working to deploy innovative processes related to technology such as EMR, telehealth and AI."