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Burnout causes real suffering among people who have dedicated their careers to preventing and relieving the suffering of others. Clinicians and trainees experiencing burnout are more likely to develop alcohol abuse/dependence and are at an increased risk of developing depression and suicidal ideation.

While effects of burnout on the health and well-being of individual clinicians and trainees are alarming, the effects on patient safety and organizational outcomes can also be severe. Clinician burnout is linked to lower patient satisfaction and, in rare cases, medical errors. Burnout is associated with increased turnover and productivity loss at the national level that equates, by one estimate, to eliminating the graduating classes of seven medical schools. These strains have serious implications for health care organizations, insurers, and patients and potentially severe ramifications for the sustainability of our health system.

Browse the topics below to learn more about the widespread effects of clinician burnout.

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by a high degree of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment at work....

For many, being a clinician is not a career —it is an identity and a lifelong commitment to ensuring the health and well-being of others. However, the...

While the personal toll of clinician burnout is significant, burnout also has notable effects on the sustainability of health care organizations and the health care...

Although clinician burnout is widely recognized, not enough has been done to systematically address this apparently growing problem. One reason for this is a lack...