New research on the JAMA Network Open found that the majority of doctors take less than three weeks of vacation a year, and that a staggering amount perform patient care tasks while they are on vacation, providing more evidence as to why burnout rates continue to climb in the medical profession.
A survey of more than 3,000 doctors found that 59.6% took 15 or fewer vacation days in 2023, with nearly 20% taking five or fewer vacation days. Perhaps more notable, more than 70% of respondents said that they performed patient care-related tasks while on vacation, with 33.1% working 30 minutes or more on a typical vacation day. Less than half of respondents reported having full electronic health record inbox coverage while on vacation.
Not surprisingly, the study also found that taking more than three weeks vacation a year and having full EHR coverage while on vacation was associated with lower rates of physician burnout. Conversely, spending 30 minutes or more per vacation day on patient-related work was associated with a higher rate of burnout. Researchers concluded by saying that we need to normalize the expectation that physicians not only take time off from work, but also fully disconnect from clinical work while they are on vacation in order to improve their mental health and their feelings of burnout.
The Problem Of Physician Burnout
The medical industry has the highest rate of burnout, and we’ve seen firsthand just how exhausting the world of healthcare can be. And while time off is essential, the advent of the cell phone means that many in the healthcare industry are never truly disconnected. We understand that health issues don’t just pop up between the hours of 9-5pm, but we’d venture to guess that the majority of doctors are completing at least some patient-related care tasks every single day of the week. That includes after hours, on the weekends and on vacation time.
We don’t want this blog post to come off as sour grapes, because we truly love our profession and being able to help those in need, we just simply want to amplify the take home message of the research, which is that we need to normalize disconnecting from our job when we’re not on the clock. This isn’t a problem that’s isolated to the medical industry either. Plenty of professionals are not only capable of, but expected to answer emails, texts or other work-related messages outside of normal hours. For some, it may be an expected part of the job, but for others it’s a silent burden on their mental health.
We need to get back to prioritizing “me time.” It should be perfectly normal to work hard when you’re on the clock and be okay leaving after-hours emails or work-related tasks until the next day. Of course there are time sensitive and important issues that may warrant our attention outside of normal hours, but we have to be able to unplug and unwind if we are going to be the best version of ourselves for our patients and for our loved ones. Care for your mental health, and care for the mental health of those around you, because burnout, stress, anxiety and mental health issues continue to skyrocket. Normalize and prioritize taking ownership of your mental health by dissociating from work when you’re not on the clock.