After several years of escalation, physician burnout rates are easing — but as older stressors recede, new ones are rising to take their place.

Burnout — extreme emotional exhaustion and a sense of detachment from one's work — has prevailed across various medical specialties for years, in particular since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2024 report based on a Medscape survey found that 49% of physicians reported burnout, compared to 53% in 2023. Tebra's 2025 research on burnout found that 37% of private providers report burnout.

Tebra surveyed 219 United States healthcare providers across 6 specialities:

The study found burnout varies across the medical field, with some specialties facing more severe challenges than others. Emergency medicine physicians experience the most intense burnout, with the highest emotional fatigue (68%) and depersonalization (55%). Therapists reported the next-highest rate of emotional fatigue at 61%, along with the highest mental fatigue (77%).

Below are the top symptoms and drivers of burnout for each speciality.

Top burnout symptoms:

Top burnout drivers: 

Family physicians face constant emotional and administrative strain, and are least likely of all specialties to talk with family, friends, and colleagues as a strategy for burnout.

Top burnout symptoms:

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Administrative and documentation burdens are the top cause of burnout in primary care, driving high mental fatigue and low career fulfillment. Primary care physicians are also least comfortable discussing mental health or burnout issues with peers (45% either rarely or never comfortable).

However, more than half (65%) of primary care physicians have never or rarely considered switching specialties — signaling content in their area of medicine.

Top burnout symptoms:

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ER physicians experience the most intense burnout overall, marked by emotional fatigue and depersonalization — driven by difficult patients, heavy caseloads, and staffing shortages.

When asked, "What, if any, aspects unique to your specialty most contribute to your burnout?," one respondent said: "Working nights and weekends, flipping schedules so I can't have a regular sleep pattern, watching people die and then getting yelled at by another patient for long wait times, being talked down to by other specialties even when they rely on us for all emergency care of their patients and their own families."

Top burnout symptoms:

Therapists also report the highest loss of motivation and interest (55%) and cognitive issues (39%) of any specialties.

Top burnout drivers:

Therapists report the highest mental and physical fatigue of any group and often face compassion fatigue — yet they also show resilience, seeking help and openly discussing mental health.

When asked, "How has burnout negatively impacted your patient care?," one respondent said: "In the past, I have had to cancel patients the day of our appointment due to me having a panic attack or feeling so burnt out that I believed I wouldn't be helpful to them. I also took a month off before to take a break."

Top burnout symptoms:

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Psychiatrists report emotional fatigue and financial strain, yet 97% have rarely or never considered switching specialties — suggesting strong commitment to their field despite the challenges.

When asked, "What, if any, aspects unique to your specialty most contribute to your burnout?," one respondent shared: "People often share very personal and at times traumatic experiences. Hard not to internalize them at times." Another one noted: "I can't stop working because I need to pay off my debt and don't have many other transferable skills for other careers."

Top burnout symptoms: 

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Pediatricians experience high levels of mental, emotional, and physical fatigue — driven primarily by administrative tasks and documentation, difficult patient interactions, and low pay.

When asked, "What advice would you give health system leaders to reduce burnout among physicians in your specialty?," one pediatrician shared: "Primary care, especially pediatricians, deserve better compensation. Less regulations should be mandated especially by those not in a medical field."

Top burnout symptoms:

Cardiologists report the lowest percentage of emotional fatigue (16%).

Top burnout drivers:

For cardiologists, burnout stems less from patient care than from administrative friction — especially insurance approvals and documentation that pull focus from clinical work.

One responded shared these aspects unique to cardiology that most contribute to burnout: "The time spent in documentation, getting meds approved, having to fight insurances, and not getting reimbursed fairly."

Medscape's 2024 survey found that female physicians experienced a higher incidence of burnout compared to male physicians, with 56% feeling the strain versus 46% of male physicians. Tebra's 2025 research found similar results, with women reporting higher levels of mental, physical, and emotional fatigue — as well as loss of motivation and interest.

Male physicians were also more likely than female physicians to report no burnout symptoms at all, underscoring that women face a higher overall burden of fatigue and emotional strain.

Documentation and charting emerged as burnout's top contributor, cited by 16% of providers as their primary driver. Other top factors include the following:

The data makes one thing clear: physician burnout is driven less by clinical care than by the systems that surround it. Reducing burnout means addressing the operational pain points physicians face every day — from documentation overload to payer friction.

Documentation and charting are the top contributors to burnout across specialties, often forcing physicians to finish notes after hours.

What helps:

Practices that successfully reduce burnout give physicians more control over how and when documentation happens. This includes using EHRs that support the full clinical workflow — with tools that minimize typing, duplicate entry, and backtracking.

Cloud-based, ONC-certified EHR platforms like Tebra support documentation with features such as templates and shortcuts, AI-assisted note creation, digital charge capture, flowsheets, and mobile charting — helping notes get done closer to the point of care instead of at night or on weekends.

Difficult patients and rising patient demands are major burnout drivers, often fueled by miscommunication, scheduling friction, and unclear expectations.

What helps:

Automating routine patient interactions — scheduling, reminders, intake — reduces stress for both staff and clinicians. Digital tools that handle online scheduling, automated reminders, and digital intake upfront leave less room for confusion and last-minute disruptions.

Bureaucratic work and long hours go hand in hand — especially when documentation, reporting, and compliance tasks pile up outside clinic time.

What helps:

Burnout declines when administrative work is streamlined and reporting is built into everyday workflows instead of treated as an extra task.

Integrated dashboards, electronic lab ordering, and quality reporting tools (such as automated MIPS reporting and tracking system) reduce the need for manual tracking and after-hours admin work — helping physicians protect their time.

EHR and technology burdens don’t come from technology itself — they come from fragmented systems that don’t work together.

What helps:

Unified, cloud-based platforms like Tebra that connect clinical documentation, scheduling, billing, and patient communication reduce cognitive load and workflow friction.

Difficulty getting paid by payers adds financial stress and administrative complexity — especially when claims require repeated follow-up or rework.

What helps:

Practices that automate revenue cycle workflows experience fewer interruptions and less frustration around reimbursement.

Real-time eligibility checks, electronic claims submission, automated denial management, and revenue analytics help speed payments and reduce the manual work that often falls back on physicians and staff.

As this research shows, documentation overload, administrative friction, and fragmented technology are consistent sources of fatigue across specialties. Reducing burnout requires more than resilience training or time off; it requires redesigning workflows so physicians can focus on care, not clerical work. Practices that invest in integrated, supportive systems can meaningfully protect clinician well-being while improving efficiency, satisfaction, and long-term sustainability.