According to 2024 data from the American Medical Association, about 40% of physicians surveyed indicated they were likely to reduce their clinical hours in the next year. One in five said they intend to leave the profession entirely within the next two years, with nearly 28% reporting dissatisfaction with their jobs.
Dr. MaryAnn Wilbur was one of those doctors several years ago, and in 2022 she made the decision to leave direct patient care after practicing as a gynecologic oncology surgeon for four years.
Wilbur graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine and then spent eight years as a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital doing a residency and then a four-year fellowship. She was most recently practicing at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.
Once she stepped away, Wilbur embarked on a project to conduct a series of one-on-one interviews with doctors like herself who had either recently left practice or were strongly considering doing so.
Her goal was to shine a light on the trend and what factors were driving it.
She and co-author Dr. Katherine Rieth published those conversations and the research behind them in a new book, “The Doctor is No Longer In: Conversations with U.S. physicians.”
Wilbur, now the director and CEO of Health Equity Consulting in Lee County, talks about her findings, including the physician issues of burnout and lack of autonomy, on WGCU's "Gulf Coast Life." Mike Kiniry is the host.
Click on the link above to hear the conversation.
