As the stresses of the global pandemic continue to take their toll on the medical profession, a new report has found that ophthalmologists appear to be coping better than their non-ophthalmological colleagues but are still struggling under the pressure.

The Medscape Ophthalmologist Lifestyle, Happiness, and Burnout Report 2022, which surveyed more than 13,000 clinicians across 29 specialities in the US, found that 40% of US ophthalmologists said they were burned-out, compared with 47% of general physicians.

Of the 13,000 respondents, 2% were ophthalmologists (61% male, 38% female, with most aged 45–64). Over half of all female ophthalmologists (52%) reported being burned-out, compared to 35% of their male peers, reported Medscape. “The volume of bureaucratic tasks (57%) and government regulations (43%) were the top contributors to burnout… Insufficient pay (36%), lack of control in life (32%) and lack of respect from colleagues (27%) were also contributing factors.”

However, only 10% of ophthalmologists surveyed reported being clinically depressed compared with 24% of general doctors, said Medscape, with 54% saying depression did not affect their patient interactions, while 27% said they became easily exasperated with patients. Of those who took action to reduce the pressure, cutting work hours (28%), making workflow or staff changes to ease workload (24%) and participating in meditation or other stress-reduction techniques (22%) were the most common strategies.

The Medscape report also found that female ophthalmologists were more than twice as likely to feel conflicted about balancing work and parenthood as their male colleagues (44% vs 17%). Overall, however, outside of work, 65% of US ophthalmologists said they were currently ‘very happy’ or ‘somewhat happy’, which was slightly higher than the average (59%).

“Ophthalmologists ranked sixth among specialists regarding marital happiness (89%). Allergists and otolaryngologists topped the list (both 91%), while plastic surgeons ranked last (75%),” said Medscape.