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Emergency physician burnout and attrition in Canada: a longitudinal study

Kerstin de Wit1, Jasmeet Benepal2, Arani Sivakumar2

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine (de Wit, Clayton, Rang, Bartels), Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (de Wit, Chan, Mercuri), Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; School of Medicine (Benepal), Queen's University, Kingston, Ont.; Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (Sivakumar), Western University, London, Ont.; Emergency Department (Clayton), Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ont.; Department of Pediatrics and Medicine (Lim), Western University, London, Ont.; Department of Family and Emergency Medicine (Archambault), Université Laval, Que.; Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Chaudière-Appalaches (Archambault), Lévis, Que.; McMaster Education Research, Innovation, and Theory program (Chan), Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.; School of Medicine (Chan), Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ont.; Division of Emergency Medicine (Gray), Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; People Health and Wellness, and The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (Ritchie), The Ottawa Hospital; Department of Psychiatry (Gérin-Lajoie), The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ont.; Canadian Medical Association (Gérin-Lajoie), Ottawa, Ont.; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (Mercuri, Chan), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; Department of Philosophy (Mercuri), University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa. kerstin.dewit@queensu.ca.

CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'Association Medicale Canadienne
|July 27, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Canadian emergency physician burnout remains high, impacting well-being and leading to workforce departures. Strategies are needed to support physicians and improve the healthcare system to prevent physician distress.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Research
  • Public Health
  • Physician Well-being

Background:

  • Canadian emergency departments face record patient volumes, long wait times, and overcrowding.
  • Emergency physician burnout and its impact on well-being are significant concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report temporal trends in Canadian emergency physician burnout.
  • To describe the impact of emergency medicine practice on physician well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of Canadian emergency physicians from April 2020 to January 2025.
  • Surveys assessed emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.
  • Qualitative thematic analysis of free-text responses identified burnout drivers and coping mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Burnout levels remained high across 2020, 2022, and 2025.
  • 10% of surveyed physicians left the profession; 48% reduced clinical hours.
  • High emotional exhaustion or depersonalization affected 65% of respondents.

Conclusions:

  • Emergency physician burnout persists, with significant workforce attrition and reduced hours.
  • Addressing systemic issues, societal expectations, and workplace challenges is crucial.
  • Implementing supportive work models and following recommendations like EM:POWER can mitigate burnout.
Abstract

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