Examining Rates of Burnout Among Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physicians

BACKGROUND: Approximately 2 in 3 physicians experience burnout at any given time. The field of emergency medicine (EM) has notably high burnout rates; however, research on burnout specifically among pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians is more limited. The aim of this study is to examine burnout rates and contributing factors in both PEM and EM physicians, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We conducted an online convenience survey of EM and PEM physicians practicing in the United States in 2021, utilizing email listservs. We adapted the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) scale to examine 5 burnout domains: personal, work-related, patient-related, perceived contributing factors, and perceived burnout/stress due to COVID-19. RESULTS: We had a total of 453 respondents. The data were divided into 3 main groups: EM, PEM, and combined EM/PEM physicians. Burnout rates, on average, were 43.28%, 44.1%, and 43.23% for EM, PEM, and combined EM/PEM physicians, respectively. Post hoc analysis found that patient-related burnout score was, on average, higher in EM physicians (35) than in EM/PEM (31) and PEM (29) physicians (P = 0.02). Fewer EM physicians (22.8%) reported pandemic-related job security stress compared with EM/PEM (33.3%) and PEM (41.5%) physicians (P = 0.001). No other differences in burnout outcomes were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that there are differences in patient-related burnout and COVID-related job security across EM categories. Therefore, further research is needed to identify specific factors contributing to burnout among EM/PEM physicians. This, in turn, will help guide targeted solutions to combat physician burnout and promote their well-being.