Doctors face a mid-career grind

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Jul 19, 2024 View in browser   By Daniel Payne, Toni Odejimi, Carmen Paun, Ruth Reader and Erin Schumaker WORKFORCE Doctors with several years on the job report the highest levels of burnout. | AFP via Getty Images The likelihood of a doctor burning out could depend on how long they’ve practiced medicine, according to a new report from the American Medical Association covering 2023 survey data. Physicians in mid-career, with between six and 15 years beyond residency and fellowship training under their belts, are at the highest risk, with more than half having at least one symptom of burnout, the AMA found. Burnout is the feeling of physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. So it makes sense that doctors with less experience would have lower rates — about 46 percent reported a sign of burnout. Even so: The lowest rate, 41 percent, was among doctors with the most experience, more than 20 years. And burnout rates declined slightly for all doctors in 2023 compared with the AMA’s findings from the year before. Nearly 70 percent of those doctors polled in 2023 reported job satisfaction. Why it matters: Burnout among doctors is a top concern for policymakers, especially those representing places with provider shortages. Being able to better predict where the threat of burnout is greatest could help lawmakers and provider groups work to reduce that risk by better targeting help. What’s next? One solution getting plenty of buzz: advanced artificial intelligence to reduce doctors’ paperwork burden.   The CNN-POLITICO Grill has quickly become a key gathering place for policymakers and thought-leaders attending the RNC in Milwaukee. On Tuesday, POLITICO and Bayer convened two conversations: a discussion with Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and an executive conversation with Bayer’s Jessica Christiansen, senior vice president and head of crop science and sustainability communications. The conversations focused on the news of the day in Milwaukee, including deeper discussion centered on the critical challenges faced by the agriculture sector. CATCH UP HERE     WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Hull, Mass. | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Moving houses in youth could have mental health consequences later, a recent study in Denmark found. Adults who had moved more than once between the ages of 10 and 15 were 61 percent more likely to suffer from depression compared to counterparts who didn’t move. The study didn’t look into the causes but the lead study author said the disruption to children’s social networks could be the reason. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com, or Toni Odejimi at aodejimi@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.   WORLD VIEW Von der Leyen is a social media skeptic. | Virginia Mayo/AP Ursula von der Leyen, the German elected to a second term yesterday to lead the European Union, has strong views about social media’s health effects, our European colleagues report. How so? During her campaign, von der Leyen said she wanted to launch a wide-scale inquiry into the effects of social media on the well-being of young people. She pledged to “tackle the plague of cyberbullying” and “take action against addictive designs of some platforms,” arguing social media and “excessive screen time” have played a part in a wider “mental health crisis.” Takeaway: “My heart bleeds when I read about young people harming themselves or even taking their lives because of online abuse,” she told members of the European Parliament in a speech in Strasbourg.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     POLICY PUZZLE Injesting pesticides is a common suicide method in developing countries. | Mike Fiala/AP Restricting pesticides and guns could save 120,000 lives that might otherwise be lost to suicide by 2030 across North America, South America and the Caribbean, according to a new study by the Pan American Health Organization. How’s that? In North America, guns are the problem, but in lower income regions, pesticides are ingested by many who take their own lives. The researchers predicted that stricter controls on guns and pesticides could reduce men’s suicide rates by 20 percent and women’s by 11 percent across the Western Hemisphere. Firearms are used in more than 40 percent of suicides in the U.S., while pesticides are used in a similar percentage in parts of South America and the Caribbean. Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago could reduce suicides by a third by restricting access to pesticides, the report says. Even so: Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souza, a study co-author and chief of mental health and substance use at the Pan American Health Organization, said suicide has deep roots in society. He called for increased access to support systems in schools and more sensitive media reporting when dealing with suicide. “There are different factors that really point, many times, to social determinants, to the conditions that people live in, to the adversities that people face,” he said.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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