Burnout in Medicine Is Still Prevalent, With Emergency Medicine Leading

InnovationHealthcareBurnout in Medicine Is Still Prevalent, With Emergency Medicine LeadingByDr. Sai Balasubramanian, M.D., J.D.,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sai writes about healthcare, innovation and technology.Follow AuthorApr 23, 2026, 10:00pm EDTThe burnout crisis in healthcare continues to escalate.gettyA new report indicates that while physician burnout is improving across some areas, certain specialties still face overwhelming levels of burnout. The latest study by the American Medical Association shows an overall decline with 41.9% of physicians reporting atleast one burnout symptom in 2025, down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023. While 41.9% is still a high number and the decline is not necessarily by an incredible magnitude, these figures indicate substantial progress, especially when compared to 2023.Interestingly, the specialty with the highest burnout still remains emergency medicine, with nearly 49.8% of physicians reporting atleast one symptom. The second highest was urological surgery (49.5%). In contrast, infectious disease (23.3%), nephrology (29.3%) and dermatology (31.5%) were among the professions with the lowest levels of reported burnout by physicians. What is physician burnout? The AMA defines it as “a long‑term stress reaction which can include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (i.e. lack of empathy for or negative attitudes toward patients), [or a] feeling of decreased personal achievement.” For the last few decades, levels of burnout have reached all-time highs due to a variety of reasons, including significant administrative tasks, paperwork, increasing patient volumes and changing expectations of the patient and physician relationship. A 2023 study in the JAMA Network Open Journal found that burnout has significant impacts on care delivery; in fact, physicians experiencing burnout are more likely to make medical errors, have lower patient satisfaction scores and have higher l...