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Home Research Research Library Lower Likelihood of Burnout Among Family Physicians From Underrepresented Racial-Ethnic Groups Lower Likelihood of Burnout Among Family Physicians From Underrepresented Racial-Ethnic Groups 2021 Author(s) Douglas, Montgomery, Coman, Emil, Eden, Aimee R, Abiola, Suleiman, and Grumbach, Kevin Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Innovations, and Practice Organization / Ownership Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine PURPOSE We investigated whether physician race and ethnicity were associated with burnout among a nationally representative sample of family physicians.METHODS We undertook a cross-sectional observational study using survey data from 1,510 American Board of Family Medicine recertification applicants in 2017 and 1,586 respondents to the 2017 National Graduate Survey. Of the 3,096 total family physicians, 450 (15%) were from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine. We used structural equation models to test the effects of underrepresented status on single-item measures of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.RESULTS Family physicians underrepresented in medicine were significantly less likely than their non-underrepresented counterparts to report emotional exhaustion (adjusted odds ratio = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.69-0.99; total effect) and depersonalization (adjusted odds ratio = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.41-0.71; total effect). The underrepresented physicians were more likely than non-underrepresented peers to practice in more racially and ethnically diverse counties and less likely to practice obstetrics, both of which partly mediated the protective effect of underrepresented status on depersonalization.CONCLUSIONS Although factors such as racism might be expected to adversely affect the well-being of underrepresented clinicians, underrepresented family physicians reported a lower frequency of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The mediating protective effect of working in more racially and ethnically diverse counties is consistent with evidence of the beneficial effect of cultural diversity on health outcomes for minorities. Because physician burnout is a known predictor of job turnover and may also be associated with poorer quality of care, the lower burnout observed among underrepresented family physicians may be an asset for the health care system as a whole. ABFM Research Read all 2021 Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education Go to Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education 2021 The Need for Coaches in the Clinical World Go to The Need for Coaches in the Clinical World 2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity 2025 Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence Go to Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence
Author(s) Douglas, Montgomery, Coman, Emil, Eden, Aimee R, Abiola, Suleiman, and Grumbach, Kevin Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Innovations, and Practice Organization / Ownership Volume Annals of Family Medicine Source Annals of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2021 Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education Go to Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education 2021 The Need for Coaches in the Clinical World Go to The Need for Coaches in the Clinical World 2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity 2025 Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence Go to Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence
2021 Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education Go to Reenvisioning Family Medicine Residency Education
2018 Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity Go to Physician Perceptions of Performance Feedback in a Quality Improvement Activity
2025 Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence Go to Leveraging Large Language Models to Advance Certification, Physician Learning, and Diagnostic Excellence