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Depressing statistics from a new Medscape survey show that obstetricians and gynecologists are clearly feeling the effects of burnout nationwide. As part of the survey, 15% of surveyed ob/gyns admitted to having suicidal thoughts while 1% admitted to having attempted suicide.

The survey had a sample size of 15,181 licensed physicians in the United States. Participants completed a 10-minute online survey between June 25 and September 19, 2019. The estimated margin of error was +/- 0.80%. For the specific slideshow published, the data extrapolated identified ob/gyns to compare their answers to the physician responses as a whole.

Some of the other worrying statistics include:

• About 25% of ob/gyns said they were very or extremely happy at work, but about 50% said the same about being outside of work.
• Of the reasons cited for burnout, too many bureacratic tasks (57%) and EHRs (36%) were the leading reasons given. Insufficient compensation was a close third (35%).
• The most common approach to battling burnout cited by respondents was isolation from others (50%) and exercise (49%); respondents could select multiple approaches.
• When asked if they aim to seek professional help for depression or burnout, 63% said no and that they have never sought professional help. Over 20% said they were or would seek professional help.

You can see the whole report with a Medscape login here.