Up to half of practicing doctors say they experience emotional exhaustion, detachment or a low sense of accomplishment, putting patients and doctors at risk, a new study reports.
Research over the last 10 years has shown that burnout – the particular constellation of emotional exhaustion, detachment and a low sense of accomplishment – is widespread among medical students and doctors-in-training. Nearly half of these aspiring doctors end up becoming burned out over the course of their schooling, quickly losing their sense of empathy for others and succumbing to unprofessional behavior like lying and cheating.
