AMA: Clinician burnout in specialties persists as overall rates drop

Clinician burnout rates are continually declining across the U.S., new American Medical Association, or AMA, data show, with 41.9% of physicians reporting at least one symptom of burnout in 2025 -- down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023. Despite the steady decline in burnout rates, certain medical specialties are experiencing higher burnout levels than others, highlighting a disparity that requires targeted solutions, the AMA suggested. 

The highest burnout rates were reported in emergency medicine (49.8%), urological surgery (49.5%), hematology/oncology (49.3%), obstetrics and gynecology (45.7%) and radiology (45.2%). The lowest burnout rates were reported in ophthalmology (25.8%), pathology (28.3%), nephrology (29.3%), dermatology (31.5%) and psychiatry (31.6%). 

The AMA's findings were based on nearly 19,000 physician responses to the AMA Organizational Biopsy, an assessment tool that the AMA developed to measure organizational culture, practice efficiency, self-care and retention within healthcare organizations.  

"2025 marked another year of progress in reducing overall physician burnout levels. This reflects broad gains in engagement, well-being, and perceived support across organizations," AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., said in an accompanying press release.  

"However, burnout varies widely by medical specialty, driven by differences in workload, administrative burden, clinical environment, staffing support, and the day-to-day realities of practice. Building effective, lasting solutions requires better understanding where physicians are struggling -- and why." 

In addition to disparities in burnout rates across specialties, the AMA noted variations in job stress levels. Overall, stress levels declined from 2024 to 2025, but physicians in certain specialties reported significantly higher stress than those in other areas. For example, obstetrics and gynecology reported the highest stress levels, at 48.7%, while psychiatry stress levels sat at 30.5%. 

Overall, hospital-based specialties such as emergency medicine and radiology fared worse than the benchmark on job stress, job satisfaction and burnout, suggesting a need to address the workflow challenges that may be contributing to these negative outcomes. 

The report did not explore the specific drivers of burnout, but past research suggests that EHR documentation burden and other administrative tasks that pull doctors away from their patients contribute to burnout. Ambient AI scribe technology and other AI-powered tools have shown promise for reducing that administrative burden and effectively boosting clinician well-being. 

"These data make clear that improving physician well-being isn't one-size-fits-all -- it requires targeted, specialty-specific strategies," Mukkamala said in the press release.  

"By reducing administrative burden and advancing evidence-based solutions, we can help physicians rediscover the joy in medicine while building more sustainable practice environments. The AMA urges health system leaders to use these insights to benchmark performance and accelerate efforts to address the unique drivers of burnout across specialties." 

Jill Hughes has covered health tech news since 2021.