Burnout: The Experience of Women In Medicine During COVID-19

By: Sharon Grossman, Ph.D.

Medically reviewed by Patricia Salber MD, MBA (@docweighsin)

Women in medicine are faced with heightened demands and lower than normal resources during the COVID pandemic. This can lead to anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and burnout.

Stresses related to the pandemic are being added to the already stressful life of female physicians. This places them at risk of burnout. (Photo source: iStock)

Women in medicine are at risk of physician burnout due to COVID-19 due to many different factors, including:

• The fear of catching the potentially lethal disease
• Worry about having their health compromised now and into the future
• Wondering if they will spread COVID to their loved ones
• Worrying about how to manage their household and children in face of school closures and the need to stay away from their usual sources of support (parents, grandparents)

Further, they must continue to deal with all of the job-related stress that existed before the pandemic, including:

• The pressure of seeing a high volume of patients
• Managing the emotional reactions of their stressed-out patients
• Charting and paperwork after each patient visit
• Dealing with unrealistic expectations of patients and their families