New Physicians See Plenty of Job Offers but Burnout Impacts Choices

More than half of new physicians receive over 100 job offers during their training, but many would not choose the healthcare field again, a survey from AMN Healthcare found.

The 2023 Survey of Final-Year Medical Residents; Many Job Choices, Many Reservations includes 241 responses from physicians in their last year of residency training.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they received 100 or more job solicitations from hospitals, medical groups, and physician recruiters during training. This is the highest number recorded since the survey was first conducted in 1991, highlighting the impact of staffing shortages on physician demand. Nearly 80 percent of physicians received 51 or more job solicitations.

However, 30 percent of respondents said if they could do their careers over again, they would not choose to practice medicine. This is also the highest share since the survey’s inception.

Physician burnout is not only impacting those who’ve been in the field for a while. Over 80 percent of residents said they sometimes, often, or always experienced feelings of burnout during their training. Almost half (45 percent) of respondents said they often or always experienced burnout.

“It is concerning that many new physicians already feel burned out before they enter their first practice,” Leah Grant, president of AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions, said in the press release. “Physician burnout at all career stages remains a public health challenge that must be addressed.”

Amidst these challenges, gender disparities persist as female residents expect to earn less in their first practice than male residents. Around 80 percent of male residents said they expect to earn $251,000 or more, compared to 58 percent of female residents. Expectations were lower for females even in the same specialties.

According to AMN Healthcare researchers, these lower income expectations from female physicians may cause them to be less assertive in contract negotiations, driving ongoing income disparities between men and women doctors.

New physicians are particular about where they want to practice medicine, the survey found. For example, only 2 percent of respondents would prefer to practice in communities of 10,000 people or less, and 4 percent would prefer to practice in communities of 25,000 people or less.

New physicians would also rather be employed than work in an independent, private practice setting. Nearly 70 percent of respondents listed employment by a hospital as one of their top two choices for a first practice setting, while just 6 percent listed a private independent practice in their top two choices.

Most residents (61 percent) said they did not receive any formal instruction on the business of medicine during their training, perhaps explaining the small share of respondents who want to run a private practice. Furthermore, 41 percent of residents said they are unprepared to handle the business side of medicine.

This hesitance from new residents, combined with significant feelings of burnout, stands to exacerbate staffing challenges at healthcare facilities. A recent survey from symplr revealed that healthcare leaders are most concerned about clinician shortages, staffing challenges, and nursing shortages over the next year.