There are some professionals we would want (or hope) to be very happy with their chosen careers. For obvious reasons, we would hope that the physicians who care for us love their profession. However, according to Medscape’s 2014 Physician Lifestyle Report, some physician specialties report being happier at their job compared to other specialties. The percentages are not that encouraging for us patients…or perhaps it’s just me. Interestingly, dermatologists are the happiest physicians at their jobs: 53 percent reported being “very” or “extremely” happy at work. From a separate Medscape report, dermatologists are also least likely to be overweight. Hmm, might this be a correlation or causation? Medscape’s data is based on survey responses from 31,399 physicians. The following list ranks the remaining 23 specialties based on the percent of physicians who responded they were “very” or “extremely” happy at work. Ophthalmologists: 46 percent Pathologists: 45 percent Gastroenterologists: 44 percent Psychiatrists: 44 percent Nephrologists: 43 percent HIV/Infectious disease specialists: 42 percent Orthopedists: 42 percent Pediatricians: 42 percent Rheumatologists: 42 percent Critical Care: 41 percent Oncologists: 41 percent Urologists: 41 percent Anesthesiologists: 40 percent Cardiologists: 40 percent General surgeons: 40 percent Obstetricians and gynecologists: 40 percent Pulmonologists: 40 percent Neurologists: 39 percent Endocrinologists: 38 percent Internists: 37 percent Radiologists: 37 percent Family medicine physicians: 36 percent Emergency medicine physicians: 36 percent Growing evidence suggests there is a relationship between happiness and workplace success. I find this study to be particularly interesting, as it may reflect on the tenuous quality of healthcare outcomes received within our healthcare ‘system.’ Choosing the right profession can be difficult. Choosing to become a medical professional has the potential of reaping great rewards along with some unintended side effects. Source
