The American Oncologists Work More Than 50 Hours Per Week

The American Oncologists Work More Than 50 Hours Per Week.
Most cancer doctors are satisfied with their career, but nearly half require they have savvy at least one token of work-related burnout, a new study finds in June 2013. Researchers surveyed 3000 US oncologists between October 2012 and January 2013, and found that they worked an normal of 51 hours a week. Oncologists in scholarly medical centers saw an average of 37 cancer patients per week, while those in restrictive practice saw an average of 74 patients per week. Those in visionary settings spent much of their time doing research and teaching.

While 83 percent of the oncologists in the scrutiny said they were satisfied with their career, 45 percent reported experiencing at least one foreshadowing of burnout, including emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The study was presented Sunday at the annual congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

"Oncology can be a tremendously rewarding block of medicine, but caring for patients with cancer is also demanding and stressful," lead author Dr Tait Shanafelt, a Mayo Clinic hematologist/oncologist, said in a the public news release. "Oncologists operate long hours, supervise the administration of highly toxic therapy, and continually observe ruin and suffering, so it is important to study the issues of burnout and career satisfaction".

Further research is needed to connect personal and professional characteristics associated with burnout and career satisfaction, the study authors said. Forty-three percent of the oncologists in the research were in private practice, 34 percent in academic medical centers, and the remains worked in the military, with veterans or in industry.

The number of hours worked by oncologists in impractical medical centers and private practice were similar but 81 percent of oncologists in abstract medical centers cared for patients with a specific type of cancer, compared to 17 percent of those in hermit-like practice continue reading. Data and conclusions of research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.