AUTHOR=deFilippi Christopher R. 

TITLE=Cardiology career satisfaction: a little academic activity goes a long way

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2024.1385509

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2024.1385509

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=The professional landscape for clinical cardiologists along with most physicians has changed dramatically in the last decade in the United States. By the end of 2020, 87% of cardiologists were integrated with a health system (employed or part of a professional services agreement) (1). The Inova health system, located in northern Virginia outside of Washington DC, is consistent with this trend. Physicians transitioning to a large employer can feel dissatisfaction from a lack of autonomy, pressure from “one-size-fits-all” productivity targets, and outcomes judged by patient satisfaction scores. Productivity demands at their worst can lead to the phenomenon of “burnout” with a paradox that higher demands with greater clinical productivity can lead to a lower sense of personal accomplishment. There can be serious consequences of “burnout”. A recent meta-analysis showed that a sense of lower personal accomplishment results in 47% more patient safety incidents adversely impacting all within a health system (2). How then might this be addressed in a constructive manner to promote professional well-being, expertise and autonomy with recognition that health systems often work with razor thin financial margins? Thinking as a clinician one considers both a peer-reviewed evidence base and anecdotal experience to address this issue.