Physician burnout was substantial in this cross-sectional analysis of more than 6,000 physicians in Europe and the US, with rates reaching as high as 45% in some European hospitals and 34% in the US. Nearly one in three European physicians and almost one in four US physicians reported intent to leave within one year, and poor workload control and limited work-life balance were common. Hospital-level factors appeared strongly linked to physician well-being: better nurse staffing, more supportive clinical care environments, and stronger interdisciplinary teamwork were associated with lower burnout, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intent. Modeled estimates suggested that raising staffing adequacy to the 90th percentile could meaningfully reduce physicians’ intent to leave in both regions.

Source: JAMA Network Open