Physicians Are Overwhelmed With Their Workload

There's a difference between being busy and feeling overworked. I don't mind being busy - I don't even mind working long hours - as long I'm engaged in what I'm doing. But no one wants to feel overworked, like they're not in control of how they're spending their time.

A new study by locumstory.com found that 65 percent of physicians feel more overworked today than when they started their career, compared to just 13 percent of doctors who feel less overworked.

The problem isn't that physicians are busier - though they are. It's that they're not spending time doing the things they want to. The study showed that 59 percent of doctors want to spend more time with patients, but that time keeps declining. More than half of the respondents said they spend less time with patients now than when they started their career - largely because they're doing more paperwork.

You can only feel overworked for so long before you want to quit whatever it is you are doing. But it doesn't have to come to that. If you're feeling burned out, make sure you're delegating appropriately and not taking on more than you can handle. If you really have more work than can be done it might be time to bring on more permanent or temporary staff. Locum tenens doctors are a great way to alleviate some of that burden.

We're already facing a physician shortage. We can't afford to lose anymore physicians.

Check out this infographic for the rest of the survey data.