Great chart to use showing how satisfied physicians are depending on their specialties.

Study looked at 97 undergrads at a liberal arts university. 44 were former premeds which completed surveys explaining why there were no longer premeds. 53 were premeds which explained why they still were. Results showed that the top reason students quit the premed track was ochem.

Study compares the gender differences in job satisfaction in 5,704 physicians. Results showed that females were more satisfied with their specialties and with patient/colleague relationships, but less likely to be satisfied with autonomy, relationships with community, pay, and resources. Females are paid $22,000 less than male physicians. Women more likely to burnout if they worked additional 5 hours per week over 40 hours.

Provides concrete statistics on how doctors view their professions, where the dissatisfaction stems from.

A study was done to examine why happy and unhappy doctors wanted to retire early. 44 general practitioners from Northern Deanery, UK were interviewed about their plans, reasons for, and feelings about retirement. The study found that doctors who were happy about their job still wanted to retire early because they wanted to do adventurous things while they were still young.  They found the physician life too "demanding" that they couldn't lead full social lives. Doctors who were unhappy and wanted to retire cited change as being the predominant reason. This change includes the increased paperwork doctors do, the decreased patient-physician interaction, the increased delegation to other nonphysician assistants...etc.

There is value to the current premed curriculum called the "hidden curriculum" in which the vigorous course work of the premed courses "give students a moral education, showing them what it takes to succeed and thereby molding the character of the next generation of physicians." The author also calls for courses that calls premeds to reflect on their motivations for choosing medicine as a career.

Study that examined 1118 graduates from Hopkins Medschool over 30 years  and found that for those who married, the divorce rate was 51 percent for psychiatrists, 33 percent for surgeons, 24 percent for internists, 22 percent for pediatricians and pathologists, and 31 percent for other specialties. The overall divorce rate was 29 percent after three decades of follow-up and 32 percent after nearly four decades of follow-up. Physicians who married before medical school graduation had a higher divorce rate than those who waited until after graduation (33 percent versus 23 percent). The year of first marriage was linked with divorce rates: 11 percent for marriages before 1953, 17 percent for those from 1953 to 1957, 24 percent for those from 1958 to 1962 and 21 percent for those after 1962. Those who had a parent die before medical school graduation had a lower divorce rate. Female physicians had a higher divorce rate (37 percent) than their male colleagues (28 percent). Physicians who were members of an academic honor society in medical school had a lower divorce rate, although there was no difference in divorce rates according to class rank. Religious affiliation, being an only child, having a parent who was a physician and having a divorced parent were not associated with divorce rates.

Conflicting viewpoints on the supply and demand of physicians in America. Dr. Cooper (Director of the Health Policy Institute at the Medical College of Wisconsin) believes that medical school output needs to be increased 35% of what is is now by 2020. He notes that for every 1% rise in GDP in the US, healthcare spending increases 1.6%.  Physicians will have to work harder because the expense of seeing a doctor might turn patients away from them. Instead many patients will find that they can get the same level of care from As, nurses...etc. The US residency program has more spots than the number of graduating medical students (16,000 graduates and 20,000 resident spots). To fill these spots, hospitals recruit from abroad. Need more people to practice in rural and urban areas. Medical schools are restricted by the number of class sizes they can admit each year.

Lip Lee, SHO Medical oncology Manchester Send response to journal: Re: Opportunities and availability of training I agree with most of the suggested answers, that doctors are unhappy because they are overworked, underpaid, undersupported, unrealistic expectations from relatives and government etc etc. On top of that I find one aspect particularly stressful: the opportunities and availabilities of training. Most junior doctors are so overworked they have little time to learn the skills and knowledge they need in their job. Yes, formally training and educational meetings are organised in most hospital, but the pressures of work mean that only a minority can get to the training sessions. On top of that the competition for career advancement is very stressful, forcing many junior doctors to go through posts that do not interest them because there is such a limitation in higher posts. The above makes me feel very vulnerable and inadequate at work.

In medical schools’ attempts to predict success of clinicians, they have used variables such as transcript, GPA, and test scores. This study found that test scores does not correlate with achievements in clinical years for postgraduate training or as physicians.

63% of doctors wouldn't recommend their kids to enter medicine.

Stanford study that surveyed premeds on the perception of premedical students.

Study of 12,000 physicians found that 70% happy with jobs and 20% unhappy with jobs. Satisfaction depended on job specialties (ex: geriatrics, pediatrics), living in northeastern part of the US, being of younger age, working with other doctors so not sole proprietorship, and graduates of domestic schools.

Explains the importance of grooming ethical doctor.

Author looks at the different factors that will change the face of medicine and practice in the coming years. First she cites factors such as, demographics and the pattern of disease; new technologies; changes in healthcare delivery; increasing consumerism; patient empowerment and autonomy; an emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency; and changing professional roles. Medical education will have to respond to these changes in order to best prepare tomorrow's doctors.

In the 1950s, doctors were perceived to be of great prestige - "heirs to a golden age of medicine." By the 1980s, doctors were proclaimed to be the nation's "dispirited" people who were "considering bailing out of medicine" because of bureaucracies, loss of autonomy, diminished prestige, and deep personal dissatisfaction40% of practicing physicians would not choose to enter the medical profession if they were deciding on a career again. An even higher percentage for doctors who would not encourage their kids to enter medicine. In 2000, a study showed that 40% of doctors would not recommend their profession of medicine to qualified college students.  In 2001, a study showed that 58% of 2608 physicians said their enthusiasm for medicine has declined during the past 5 years. 87% said that overall morale of physicians had declined during that time.  In 2001, Massachusetts physicians were asked why they were so dissatisfied with medicine; they attributed the dissatisfaction to income, workload, and time consumed by administrative tasks.  Study in 2000 showed that when comparing men and women on how satisfied they were with their jobs (patient and colleague relationships), women were more likely to say they were satisfied. Both men and women were as likely to say they were happy with their overall careers. However, women were 60% more likely to express burn-out with their careers.  Studies show conflicting results in examining the relationship between job satisfaction and age. Some studies show that the older physicians are happier, while others show younger physicians are happier. One study showed that the happiest doctors were younger than 35 years old and older than 75 years. Income doesn't always mean happiness, however one study showed that physicians earning from $250,000 - $299,999 a year were 98% more likely to report being content with their careers than those who earned half as much.  Job satisfaction levels also depend on where you practice. For example, between 1997 to 2001, physicians satisfaction with their jobs were improved. The improvement was traced directly to increasingly stringent state supervision of HMOs and requirement for prompt payment from patients. In looking at the relationship between medical specialties and job satisfaction, internists found their jobs less rewarding. They did find joy from social interactions, rather than intellectual stimulation. Cardiologists were most satisfied with their jobs on account of intellectual stimulation. Ophthalmologists were most satisfied on account of good therapeutic outcomes. Boredom and and infrequent therapeutic success might underlie many doctors' dissatisfaction with primary care medicine. As a doctor, you also have to deal with unions and malpractice insurance. The American Medical Association cites a crisis proportion of physicians being able to find and pay steep malpractice premiums.  Physicians must also consider the accumulated debts they have from education.  2003 survey showed that 62% of final-year residents said if they were to start their education again, they wouldn't choose a medical career. The malpractice burden affects doctors' care. For example, doctors will run tests to avoid litigation moreso than for the well-being of their patients. Those who are sued say that though sues are common now, many of them still feel "feelings of shame, self-doubt, and disillusion with medical practice that may persist for many years."  This means dealing with strikes. The healthcare system is a major citing contributor to the physician dissatisfaction levels. 1991 survey of 4000 physicians from across the US found a direct correlation between level of HMO market penetration in a physician's community and reported dissatisfaction with the practice of medicine. For example, more HMOs = less happy doctors. Specifically, doctors working for HMOs were happier with their degree of autonomy and administrative responsibilities, but were less satisfied with overall job and less committed. Though only a small fraction of physicians in US are employees of HMOs, more than 90% have at least one contract with an HMO. Other reasons of dissatisfaction with HMOs include the traffic of patients in and out of care for insurance reasons, administrative paperwork, limitations on referring patients to specialists of the physician's choice, financial incentives to curb medical workups, pressure to see high numbers of patients, and limitations on the prescribing of drugs. 2001 survey showed that 75% of doctors  said managed care deleteriously affected the they practiced medicine and the quality of the medical service.  Some people argue that such dissatisfaction stems from a country's healthcare system, however studies show that this dissatisfaction is apparent in doctors around the world. The expectations of a doctor are very extreme. For example, one doctor reported in the 2001 British Medical Journal that patients regard doctors as God. They treat doctors as such and expect miracles, death is not allowed.  Another issue doctors have to deal with is the lack of time to accomplish things. Studies show that there is a lack of time needed for doctors to address all the new medical checks for a patient. Doctors feel the tension of not being able to offer the full quality of services to their patients.  When you're a doctor, you're not just a doctor - you have multiple roles. For example, you serve as de facto "double agents" for insurers, governement agenecies, and courts.  Psychiatrist Martin Lipp, in studying physician dissatisffaction, explains that doctors "are assaulted from within by the impossibility of knowing everything they feel they have to know, and from without by a system that removes authority and forces adherence to conflicting allegiances."  He goes on to explain the harsh criticism patients often express and says that the real world in which doctors practice will not support their inner sense of dedication. Historically: Doctors haven't always been placed on pedestals. Instead this doctor explains that the golden age of doctors in the mid-20th century was the aberration.