Why Doctors Are QUITTING MEDICINE

Summary

The video discusses the increasing trend of doctors leaving the medical field, highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout, and the discrepancy between societal expectations and the reality of a physician's life. It emphasizes the importance of transparency, the role of identity and the sunk cost fallacy in career decisions, and suggests entrepreneurship as a viable alternative for those seeking more control and fulfillment. The speaker encourages potential and current medical professionals to make informed choices about their careers based on a realistic understanding of the profession.

Takeaways

• 😷 The COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant stressor for healthcare professionals, leading to increased workloads and concerns over personal health.
• 🔢 Recent studies suggest that a notable percentage of physicians are considering leaving their practices, with burnout being a major factor.
• 🤔 The idea that more doctors are leaving medicine now than in the past is not definitively supported by data, but the pandemic has certainly acted as a catalyst for some.
• 🔥 Burnout among medical professionals has been an ongoing issue, with excessive bureaucratic tasks and long work hours being key contributors.
• 💼 The healthcare system is not as incentivized to retain top talent as other industries, which can lead to feelings of exploitation and dissatisfaction among doctors.
• 🌟 Society often holds an idealized view of the medical profession, which can lead to a gap between expectations and the reality of the job.
• 🏥 The long and challenging path to becoming a doctor, including years of education and high debt levels, can be a deterrent for some.
• 📈 Increased transparency about leaving medicine, facilitated by social media, is helping to normalize the idea and show that there are alternative paths.
• 🧩 The identity as a doctor and the sunk cost fallacy can make it difficult for medical professionals to consider leaving the profession, despite dissatisfaction.
• 🚀 Entrepreneurship is presented as a viable alternative for doctors looking to leave clinical practice, offering more control and the potential for a more fulfilling career.
• 🤝 The speaker encourages individuals to make career decisions based on personal happiness and fit, rather than societal expectations or parental pressure.

Q & A

Why do some doctors consider leaving medicine?

Doctors may consider leaving medicine due to factors such as stress from the pandemic, burnout, bureaucratic tasks, lack of respect from administrators, long work hours, and the discrepancy between societal expectations and the reality of the profession.

What impact did the coronavirus pandemic have on physicians?

The pandemic added significant stress to physicians' work, with increased workload, longer hours, and the need to work in full personal protective equipment (PPE). Uncertainty about the virus and the risk of infection for themselves and their colleagues also contributed to their stress.

According to the Mayo Clinic article mentioned, what percentage of physicians are considering leaving their current practice within two years?

One in five physicians, as per the Mayo Clinic article, are considering leaving their current practice within two years.

What was found in the comparison of Medicare data between April 2019 and April 2020?

The comparison showed that nearly three times as many doctors who experienced practice interruptions in 2020 decided not to return to clinical practice compared to those in 2019.

Why might it be difficult to determine if more physicians are leaving medicine now compared to the past?

It is difficult to determine if more physicians are leaving medicine now because the data is limited, and there may not be a definitive record of physicians leaving the profession in the past.

What is one of the main reasons for physician burnout?

One of the main reasons for physician burnout is the disparity between the bureaucratic tasks, lack of respect from administrators, and the long work hours they face, and the idealized image of the profession that many doctors had when they entered medicine.

Why might the differences in performance between top-performing and lower-performing doctors not be as pronounced in the healthcare system?

The differences may not be as pronounced because the healthcare system does not have the same incentive to fight for top talent as industries like tech, where the work scales rapidly at a near-zero cost of replication, unlike the more personal and individualized nature of medical care.

What is the average medical student debt upon graduation?

The average medical student graduates with over $200,000 in debt, with some having more than $500,000.

What role does social media play in the transparency of doctors leaving medicine?

Social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and others have allowed doctors who have left the profession to share their experiences and reasons transparently, showing others that there are alternative paths and successful outcomes outside of clinical medicine.

Why might doctors feel stuck in their profession?

Doctors might feel stuck due to the strong emphasis on identity and the sunk cost fallacy, where they consider the time, effort, and money invested in becoming a doctor as wasted if they leave the profession.

What are some of the benefits of entrepreneurship for doctors who have left clinical medicine?

Entrepreneurship allows doctors to have control over their work, avoid bureaucracy, and potentially help more people on a larger scale than treating patients one at a time. It can also be a logical solution to burnout as it addresses many of the issues causing it.

Outlines

00:00

🚑 Doctors Leaving Medicine: Pandemic Impact and Burnout

The script discusses the increasing trend of doctors considering or leaving the medical profession, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic's stress on healthcare workers, the lack of initial information, and the physical and mental demands placed on doctors have been significant. The author, a former plastic surgery resident, reflects on their own departure from medicine in 2018 to focus on businesses like Med School Insiders and an MCAT study tool. The script highlights statistics from Mayo Clinic, indicating that one in five physicians may leave their practice within two years and one in three intend to reduce work hours. Burnout, a longstanding issue in the medical field, is also discussed, with bureaucracy and long hours being key contributors. The author suggests that the healthcare system exploits doctors, and compares the treatment of employees in tech industries to that in healthcare, emphasizing the lack of incentives for retaining top talent in medicine.

05:01

🌐 The Reality of Medicine vs. Societal Expectations

This paragraph delves into the disparity between societal expectations of the medical profession and the reality faced by doctors. The author addresses the long and arduous path to becoming a doctor, including years of education and training, and the high cost of medical school that often results in significant debt. The script also touches on the emotional toll of the job, such as the stress of making life-altering decisions and dealing with bureaucracy. The author emphasizes the importance of transparency in medicine, noting that social media and the internet have allowed for more open discussions about the challenges of the profession. The paragraph also explores the concepts of identity and the sunk cost fallacy, which can make doctors feel trapped in their careers, despite dissatisfaction.

10:02

🛑 Choosing Medicine: The Importance of Informed Decisions

The final paragraph focuses on the importance of making informed decisions when choosing a career in medicine. The author encourages pre-med students and medical students to understand the realities of the profession through resources like the 'day in the life' series and 'so you want to be' series. The script argues against societal pressure and parental expectations that may push individuals into a career they may not find fulfilling. The author stresses the significance of personal happiness in career choice and the value of life spent doing meaningful work. The paragraph concludes with a reminder that life is short and should be spent doing something that brings joy and satisfaction.

Keywords

💡Burnout

Burnout refers to a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. In the context of the video, it is a significant factor contributing to doctors leaving the medical profession. The script mentions that burnout has been an ongoing issue, with nearly identical percentages of physicians reporting feeling burned out in 2015 and the present day. The top reasons for burnout remain unchanged, including too many bureaucratic tasks and long work hours.

💡Pandemic

The term 'pandemic' in this video script refers to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a profound impact on healthcare workers, including doctors. The script discusses how the pandemic has added to the stress and workload of physicians, with increased uncertainty and the need to work in full personal protective equipment (PPE). The pandemic is identified as a catalyst for many doctors considering leaving medicine.

💡Residency

Residency is a stage of graduate medical training where doctors gain practical experience in a specialized field of medicine. The script mentions leaving a plastic surgery residency, indicating a specific phase in a medical career that can be quite demanding and is part of the long journey to becoming a fully licensed physician.

💡Understaffing

Understaffing refers to a situation where there are not enough employees to meet the demand for work, often leading to increased workload for the remaining staff. In the script, understaffing is mentioned as a consequence of healthcare professionals getting sick during the pandemic, which in turn puts more pressure on the remaining staff to work harder and longer.

💡MCAT

The MCAT, or Medical College Admission Test, is a standardized exam used for admission to medical schools in the United States and Canada. The script mentions 'mem' as an MCAT study tool, indicating the importance of this test for pre-med students and the role of such tools in preparing for it.

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which is often initially a small business. The video script discusses entrepreneurship as a career path that some doctors, including the speaker, have chosen to pursue after leaving clinical medicine. It highlights the benefits of being in control and the potential for making a larger impact outside of direct patient care.

💡Stress

Stress in the video script is related to the mental and emotional strain experienced by doctors, particularly during the pandemic. It is mentioned in the context of increased workload, uncertainty, and the fear of contracting the virus. Stress is a contributing factor to burnout and a reason why some doctors are leaving the profession.

💡Expectations vs. Reality

The concept of 'expectations vs. reality' in the script refers to the gap between what people anticipate about a career in medicine and the actual experience. The speaker discusses how societal idealization of doctors and the actual challenges of the profession can lead to disappointment and a reevaluation of one's career choice.

💡Transparency

Transparency in the video script is about the openness and honesty in discussing the reasons behind doctors leaving the medical field. The increased use of social media has allowed for more people to share their experiences and decisions openly, which helps to normalize and shed light on the issue.

💡Identity

Identity in this context refers to the sense of self that is tied to one's profession or role in society. The script talks about how doctors may feel trapped by their professional identity and the societal expectations that come with it, which can make leaving the profession feel like a loss of self.

💡Sunk Cost Fallacy

The sunk cost fallacy is the idea that one should continue a behavior or endeavor because of the cumulative prior investment (' sunk cost'), despite new evidence suggesting that continuation is not the best course of action. In the script, this concept is applied to doctors who may feel compelled to stay in medicine due to the significant time, effort, and money they have already invested.

Highlights

The speaker, a former plastic surgery resident, discusses the trend of doctors leaving the medical field, a topic gaining attention due to recent videos.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant stressor for healthcare workers, leading to increased workload and concerns about personal health.

Doctors have been facing burnout long before the pandemic, with little change in the top reasons causing it, such as bureaucratic tasks and long work hours.

A Mayo Clinic article reports that one in five physicians may leave their practice within two years, and one in three intends to reduce work hours.

The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for doctors leaving medicine, but it is not the sole reason; burnout has been an ongoing issue.

There is a disparity between societal expectations of the medical profession and the reality of the job, leading to disillusionment.

The long and expensive journey to becoming a doctor, including years of education and high debt, is a significant factor in the decision to leave.

Increased transparency about leaving medicine, facilitated by social media, is helping to normalize the conversation and reduce stigma.

The speaker suggests making a video about various career options after leaving medicine to gauge interest and provide guidance.

The societal idealization of doctors and the sunk cost fallacy contribute to the feeling of being stuck in the medical profession.

Entrepreneurship is presented as a viable alternative for doctors leaving medicine, offering control and the potential for greater impact.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of doing research and gaining experience to make an informed decision about a medical career.

The speaker encourages not feeling guilty about changing one's mind and not letting others dictate career choices.

The average person spends about a third of their life at work, emphasizing the importance of job satisfaction for overall happiness.

The speaker concludes by stating that while medicine has unique pros, it is overhyped and not suitable for everyone.

The importance of aligning career choices with personal happiness and interests is highlighted throughout the transcript.

Transcripts

so let me know if you've noticed this i

feel like there have been a lot of

videos recently about doctors who are

either considering leaving medicine or

they've already left and it got me

thinking why is that as many of you know

i left my plastic surgery residency back

in 2018 to focus on my businesses and

currently one of those businesses is med

school insiders we have a youtube

channel and overall we help pre-meds get

into med school medicines get into

residency and then there's mem which is

an mcat study tool now as someone who

has left medicine myself here are the

reasons why i believe doctors are

leaving medicine what's changed in

recent years and most importantly how it

applies to you now first off you can't

make a video about doctors leaving

medicine in 2022 without addressing the

coronavirus pandemic the pandemic has

obviously been incredibly stressful for

both physicians and other healthcare

workers at the beginning of the pandemic

there was a lot of uncertainty

surrounding the virus so doctors were

doing their best on incomplete

information trying to treat something we

didn't really know much about while

trying to minimize transmission for

themselves and all industries were

affected in some way or another but with

most other industries it was decreased

workload and decreased work hours

whereas doctors and healthcare workers

had to work harder and work longer

oftentimes in full ppe i mean at the

beginning they didn't even have proper

ppe now on top of that doctors aren't

immune to the virus either and many of

themselves got sick or at least had

family friends co-workers and colleagues

who did and we know that higher viral

loads also lead to more severe illness

which is pretty scary when you're the

one taking care of lots of coveted

patients not only is this stressful

mentally when you're seeing just how

sick people are getting and you worry

about your own health and of course your

family's health but when members of the

healthcare team are getting sick you

then have issues with understaffing and

now the work demands get even higher for

everyone else which makes them work even

harder and longer hours according to a

recent article from mayo clinic one in

five physicians say it's likely that

they will leave their current practice

within two years and about one in three

doctors and other healthcare

professionals intend to reduce their

work hours over the next 12 months and

this is across over 20 000 respondents

at more than 100 institutions surveyed

between january 1st and december 31st of

2020. another article from september of

2021 compared medicare data between

april 2019 and april of 2020 and what

they found is that nearly three times as

many doctors who experienced practice

interruptions in 2020 decided not to

return to clinical practice compared to

those back in 2019. now despite these

alarming statistics it's still actually

difficult to say for certain

definitively if more physicians are

leaving medicine now than back in the

past we just we don't have that data now

although the pandemic has definitely

been a catalyst for many doctors leaving

medicine leaving medicine isn't actually

a new thing doctors have been leaving

medicine long before the pandemic ever

started in fact i can think back to

several of my friends and colleagues who

quit medicine when i was either in

medical school or in residency actually

that gives me an idea do you want me to

make a video going over the various

career options after leaving medicine if

so let me know with a comment down below

so i can gauge interest so a big part of

the reason that doctors were leaving

medicine is just burnout amongst med

students residents and physicians and

this has been a big issue for a long

time even going back to 2015 long before

the pandemic 46 of physicians reported

feeling burned out compared to this year

the numbers are nearly identical at 47

and the top reasons for burnout from

2015 to 2022 they're more or less

unchanged too many bureaucratic tasks

lack of respect from administrators too

many work hours in short doctors are

being exploited by the healthcare system

there are a lot of other industries that

treat their employees much better than

healthcare so take computer science and

programming for instance they're

fighting over the top employees at these

big tech companies and trying to

incentivize them to work there and keep

them there and the reason is that it's

much more important for them to get the

top talent because the work they're

doing scales rapidly at a near zero cost

of replication that's just the nature of

code and programming but in medicine

it's not quite as critical to get that

top top talent because the differences

between having a top performing doctor

and a lower performing one aren't as

pronounced for the end product and

business success for the hospital so the

hospitals and healthcare systems are not

really incentivized to do that that's

why you never see hospitals fighting for

top physicians and bending over

backwards with benefits and perks to

keep them happy a big part of doctors

leaving medicine has also been the

disparity between expectations and

reality often times society idealizes

doctors and puts the career on a

pedestal they think hey it's an amazing

job you make great money you get to help

people i mean what more could you want

and don't get me wrong medicine is a

wonderful career but just like with

anything else there are definite pros

and cons it's not all sunshine and

rainbows people don't often consider

things like

how long it takes to become a doctor so

you got four years of undergrad plus

four years of med school plus three to

seven years of residency plus fellowship

if you decide to do that and that's

obviously a massive massive opportunity

cost in your prime years

or

how difficult the training is to become

a doctor with pre-med med school and

residency you're studying a lot you're

grinding a lot you're working really

challenging hours or how expensive

medical school is the average medical

student graduates with over 200 000 in

debt but some have more than 500k then

of course you have the long hours as an

attending to pay back your student loans

and then the stress of being responsible

for other people's lives and making

decisions that could be really

life-changing both good of course but

also bad and then there's the

administrative burdens and the

bureaucracy and yada yada yada it goes

on what you end up though is a lot of

people who go into medicine with certain

expectations and then bam reality just

smacks them in the face it's not what

they expected it to be what is the five

fingers side of the face

what

this is actually a big part of what i

try to do on both this channel and

medical insiders i want to show people

particularly pre-med and med students

what it's actually like to be a doctor

both the good and the bad so then you

can make an informed decision of whether

or not it's a good fit for you there's

lots of videos on both channels but the

day in the life series on this channel

and the so you want to be series on the

medical insiders channel both great

places to start so if doctors have

always been leaving medicine why are we

hearing more about it now it comes down

to transparency it's actually difficult

to say whether more doctors are leaving

now for certain because the data is

limited but what has changed for sure is

the transparency around leaving medicine

so before if you were thinking about

leaving medicine it was all very

hush-hush people were leaving but you

just didn't hear about it so it seemed

like fewer people left there was also a

bit more of a stigma back then about

leaving so it would have either deterred

people from leaving or if they did then

they wanted to keep it on the dl and

then of course going back to the whole

societal expectation versus reality

people go into medicine with certain

expectations and if the reality is a lot

different some of them may say hey this

is just not worth it but a lot of people

they feel stuck and actually with social

media i feel like a lot of people just

give you the highlight reel of how

amazing it is to be a doctor and only

now we're starting to see more and more

people come out about the issues that

they're having with medicine now that we

have the internet social media youtube

instagram there's a lot of people who

are leaving and they're being very

transparent with their decision and with

their reasoning you know i was one of

those people and overall this is a great

thing because it's helping other medical

students other doctors out there see

that these people left medicine and they

still had options they went on to live a

successful and meaningful lives now this

brings me to identity and i feel like we

oftentimes place too much of an emphasis

on identity and

it's human nature like we need to

categorize people things ideas we put

them into boxes because that's how we

make sense of the world if we didn't do

that it would just be

sensory overload so we need this pattern

recognition to survive but the issue is

that it often makes us hold too tightly

onto our identities and then it limits

what we are actually able to do oh i'm a

doctor therefore i can't quit and become

an entrepreneur that's just that's not

possible it's not who i am and then

there's of course the sunk cost fallacy

so you have pre-meds and residents and

attending physicians they think about

how much time and effort and money

they've invested into becoming a doctor

and i think that by leaving it they're

gonna just throw all that away it's

gonna be wasted effort so this sun cost

fallacy and identity i think are

contributing to a lot of med students

and physicians feeling stuck but if you

think back to before med school before

residency there were a lot of things

that interested you and the reality is

that those interests are still there we

just forget about them because we hold

on so tightly to these newly formed

identities so overall this increased

transparency is awesome because it's

showing people out there that you aren't

stuck there are other routes that you

can pursue one of those routes is of

course entrepreneurship so many doctors

myself included left medicine to become

entrepreneurs and business owners and

because of the internet it is easier now

than ever to start and scale a

successful business and entrepreneurship

is dope you get to make a difference

help people and make a good living

without being a clinical physician with

entrepreneurship you can actually even

scale that and help many more people on

a much larger scale than just treating

one patient at a time entrepreneurship

also makes sense as a logical solution

to burnout because a lot of the issues

that we talked about as causing burnout

can be addressed with entrepreneurship

that's because as an entrepreneur you

are in control you get to choose what

you do and how you do it you don't have

to deal with bureaucracy and crazy admin

because you're the boss you don't have

to worry about reimbursement rates from

insurance companies which have been

going down for years you can do things

your own way and i mean it's a riskier

and i would say a more exciting life as

an entrepreneur but obviously there are

a lot of downsides namely the risk and

there is still a risk of burnout because

you got to work pretty hard in most

cases to be successful as an

entrepreneur especially at the beginning

but if you're smart enough to become a

doctor you are definitely smart enough

to be a successful entrepreneur you

might have some failures along the way

and that's totally normal i've had my

failures too but in the end i think many

of us have greater entrepreneurial

abilities than we believe because of our

doctor identities so overall doctors

have always been quitting medicine they

will continue to quit medicine and what

we're seeing isn't necessarily anything

new i would argue that the main thing is

actually increased transparency about

leaving thanks to social media and look

i'm not trying to poo-poo on medicine i

think medicine and being a doctor is a

wonderful career and there are a lot of

unique pros to it that you just can't

really find in other careers just

because it wasn't right for me or some

of these other doctors that were leaving

doesn't mean that it isn't right for

other people maybe it's totally right

for you i do however think that medicine

is pretty overhyped so if a hundred

pre-meds want to go into medicine or go

to medical school maybe it's right for

75 of them but it's probably not right

for the other 25 and that's because

again this is a disconnect of

expectation from reality just like with

any career decision it's important to

know exactly what you're getting into

before you commit so that you don't end

up feeling stuck later down the road so

if you are considering medicine it's on

you to do your research get the

experience determine whether or not it's

the right fit for you and again the day

in the life series on this channel or

the so you want to be series on medical

insiders are great places to start and

if you do find that it's not for you

don't feel guilty about changing your

mind and don't let other people tell you

what you should or shouldn't do

especially your parents parents do want

what's best for you but forcing you into

a career that you don't want to do isn't

actually good for your long-term

happiness do what's right for you and

what makes you happy and don't judge

anyone else for doing the same the

average person spends about a third of

their lives at work that's about 90 000

hours over the course of their life and

life is just too short to spend all that

time doing something that doesn't make

you happy much love my friends and i'll

see you in that next one

[Music]

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