Burnout in Women Physicians

Book excerpt: This book is the first to dissect the factors contributing to burnout that impact women physicians and seeks to appropriately address these issues. The book begins by establishing the differences in epidemiology between female physicians and their male counterparts, including rates of burnout, depression and suicide, chosen fields, caregiving responsibilities at home, career tradeoffs in dual physician marriages, patient satisfaction and outcomes, academic rank, leadership positions, salary, and turnover. The second part of the book explores the drivers of physician burnout that disproportionately affect women, each chapter beginning with a case vignette. This section covers many issues that often go unrecognized including unconscious bias, sexual harassment, gender role conflicts, domestic responsibilities, depression, addiction, financial stress, and the impact related to reproductive health such as pregnancy and breastfeeding. The book concludes by focusing on strategies to prevent and/or mitigate burnout among individual women physicians across the career lifespan.This section also includes recommendations to change the culture of medicine and the systems that contribute to burnout. Burnout in Women Physicians is an excellent resource for physicians across all specialties who are concerned with physician wellness and burnout, including students, residents, fellows, and attending physicians.