What Does It Mean to Experience Workplace Burnout as an Oncologist?

Results from a recent survey published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that oncologists are experiencing higher rates of burnout in 2023 than they were in 2013.¹ In 2013, the rate of burnout was 45%, whereas in 2023, it was 59% (P < .01), a 14% difference. Additionally, more than 20% of oncologists said they were likely to, or definitely would, reduce their hours in the next 12 months.

In the wake of this report, CancerNetwork® spoke with Eric P. Winer, MD, the director of Yale Cancer Center, president and physician in chief at Smilow Cancer Hospital, deputy dean for cancer research and Alfred Gilman Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, chair of the association board for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and one of the authors on the survey, about the prevalence and effect of oncologist burnout.

Though workplace burnout is a common problem, Winer iterated that when it comes to medicine and oncology, burnout can lead to things such as fatigue, depersonalization, stress, emotional exhaustion, and a lack of empathy toward patients. All these effects of burnout, ultimately, can lead to an “increasingly negative” attitude toward work.

However, Winer also spoke about how there is less burnout in oncology than some people may suspect. He attributes this to the mission-driven nature of the work he does and how the work many oncologists do is meaningful.

Transcript:

Workplace burnout is something that is not unique to the medical profession, and there’s a [lot of] literature on burnout in a variety of different situations. When we talk about burnout related to medicine and related to oncology, we’re talking about a syndrome that involves fatigue, some element of depersonalization, a lack of interest in continuing to pursue work, feeling stressed, feeling emotionally exhausted, and oftentimes feeling a lack of empathy for the people one takes care of, with increasingly negative attitudes about work in general.

People could suspect that oncology would be an area where there would be a lot of burnout. For a lot of oncologists, there’s less burnout, and what keeps many of us from being burned out is the mission-driven nature of the work. I don’t have to go home and worry about whether I gave enough to the world today. There are professions where people don’t have that luxury, and the work I do feels very meaningful.

Reference

Schenkel C, Levit LA, Kirkwood K, et al. State of professional well-being, satisfaction, and career plans among US oncologists in 2023. J Clin Oncol. Published online January 29, 2025. doi:10.1200/OA.24.00010