According to the American Medical Association, 63% of physicians experienced burnout in 2021, up from 38% the previous year. Practicing physicians in the post-pandemic era are reducing their clinical hours or closing their private practices, worsening the expected critical workforce shortage. Similar trends are playing out in other healthcare fields. Overall, it is not surprising that physicians of my generation (and likely the following generations) have turned to locum tenens (Latin for placeholder), temporary assignments, and independent contract work to protect themselves from burnout.
( developing a satisfactory partnership with a practitioner is now history, AI is now a concern)
