The COVID-19 pandemic had the most negative impact on infectious disease physicians, according to the "2023 Medscape Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report."
The report polled physicians across 29 specialties in the United States and found that 3 in 4 physicians reported feeling very happy about their personal lives before the pandemic.
Here are the percentage of physicians who described themselves as "very happy" or "happy" before and after the pandemic.
|
Speciality |
Happiness before the pandemic |
Happiness after the pandemic |
Difference |
|
Infectious diseases |
82% |
47% |
35% |
|
Emergency medicine |
87% |
55% |
32% |
|
Critical care |
86% |
55% |
31% |
|
Pulmonary medicine |
89% |
59% |
30% |
|
Oncology |
80% |
51% |
29% |
|
Family medicine |
85% |
56% |
29% |
|
Pediatrics |
87% |
60% |
27% |
|
Anesthesiology |
85% |
58% |
27% |
|
OB-GYN |
84% |
57% |
27% |
|
Internal medicine |
84% |
57% |
27% |
|
Cardiology |
82% |
56% |
26% |
|
Radiology |
86% |
61% |
25% |
|
Neurology |
79% |
54% |
25% |
|
Rheumatology |
76% |
51% |
25% |
|
Psychiatry |
82% |
58% |
24% |
|
Allergy and immunology |
79% |
55% |
24% |
|
Diabetes and endocrinology |
81% |
58% |
23% |
|
Pathology |
85% |
62% |
23% |
|
Ophthalmology |
85% |
62% |
23% |
|
Dermatology |
85% |
62% |
23% |
|
General surgery |
82% |
59% |
23% |
|
Orthopedics |
87% |
65% |
22% |
|
Nephrology |
79% |
58% |
21% |
|
Gastroenterology |
83% |
62% |
21% |
|
Physical Medicine and rehabilitation |
83% |
63% |
20% |
|
Otolaryngology |
84% |
65% |
19% |
|
Urology |
81% |
63% |
18% |
|
Plastic surgery |
85% |
71% |
14% |
|
Public health and preventive medicine |
82% |
69% |
13% |