Comparison of wellness/burnout between primary care pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists

Burnout in the field of healthcare is among the most important challenges encountered across our workforce. Provider burnout increases the risk of personal manifestations of stress, impaired job performance, and provider turnover. There is limited evidence that suggests that pediatricians are less prone to burnout than other physicians, and that pediatric subspecialists (PSPs) had been more prone to burnout than primary care pediatricians (PCPs), though there is some evidence that the relative prevalence of burnout among PCPs and PSPs changed in recent years. In response to the aforementioned factors, our large suburban pediatric multispecialty practice instituted a wellness program in 2021 with the goal of assessing the prevalence of provider burnout, and in turn developing strategies and processes aimed at improving provider wellbeing. The goal of this study was to analyze data obtained during the first three years of our wellness program, and specifically, to compare PCPs and PSPs for evidence of burnout and stress at work; and to identify triggers which contribute to burnout.

Following exemption from our local IRB, a retrospective review was performed of all anonymized data obtained from 2021 to 2024. All PCPs and PSPs were requested to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Mini-Z 2.0 Survey, as the initial data point of a phased roll-out, as part of the organization's provider wellness program. The goal was to use this data to inform next steps in the organization's provider wellness plan. This data was then analyzed for differences in wellness, burnout, and drivers of burnout between PCPs and PSPs.

106 PCPs and 100 PSPs completed the surveys, which represents 75% of all providers in our practice. 30% of PCPs and 28% of PSPs met our predetermined definition of exhibiting signs of burnout, p = 0.711. This rate appears to be lower than those reported in recent national survey data of all physicians. Despite these rates of burnout and feeling stress at work, only 9% of PCPs and 16% of PSPs scored low for the MBI's personal accomplishment subscore. In addition, in the PSPs, there was a statistically significant difference in prevalence of low personal accomplishment in those who are experiencing at least one manifestation of burnout (36%), compared to those who are not experiencing at least one manifestation of burnout (8%). That difference was not significant in the PCP cohort (13% in burnout cohort vs. 8% in non-burnout cohort).

The results have already proven useful in shaping our approach to improving provider wellbeing and mitigating burnout. It is important that healthcare organizations measure rates of provider burnout and develop strategies to tackle this vital issue.