Almost two-thirds of American doctors feel exhausted or depressed. Worse, one in three doctors admit that this feeling has an impact on work.
When doctors are sick, who can cure them? With more than 15,000 practitioners suffering from intense fatigue and depression, the United States faces a real problem. With regard to depression, 12% of doctors feel “depressed” and report suffering from severe depression. Ofs recent statistics on the general population of the United States show that 6.7% of adults experience these same feelings. The majority of practitioners designate their work as being the source of their discomfort. In fact, a Medscape survey of the lifestyle and mood of doctors found they were happy when not working.
An impact on patients
The Medscape report also highlighted that depression affects the quality of care they provide to their patients. One in three doctors with depression said they were easily exasperated by their patients, and 32% said they were less committed to them. Finally, nearly 15% admitted that their depression could lead them to make mistakes that they would not usually do.
“The Medscape Physiotherapy and Psychotherapy Report is one of the most important things we can do to help physicians solve these problems., assures Leslie Kane, lead author of the report. Doctors are still subject to burnout. “ Burnout at work is seen by experts as an irremediable cause of depression.
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