If they could change one thing about the practice of medicine, what would
psychiatrists change? The majority of answers received from our online
physician survey focused on gaining greater autonomy for psychiatrists in
dictating clinical decisions.
Among 377 psychiatrist answers to this open-ended physician survey question
were these:
"More time for patients than papers."
"(Turn) mangled managed care back into physician-directed
and patient-focused care."
"Improve physician empowerment, e.g., taking back control
from insurance companies and improving mental health parity."
"Fewer patients per day, more staff support, more time
off."
"The big business of medicine as ruled by insurance
companies and health care systems is one thing I would change, but I know these
entities are here to stay."
"(Turn) mangled managed care back into physician-directed
and patient-focused
care."
Among 451 psychiatrists responding to the national physician survey, only 4%
said they were not frustrated about practicing medicine in today’s healthcare
marketplace. The remaining respondents identified with a list of possible
frustrations as follows:
Administrative and business agendas interfere with clinical
decisions – 34%
Administrative/business agendas interfere with clinical
decisions – 34%
Reimbursement issues – 26%
Lifestyle issues: Too much time at work – 12%
Medical liability issues – 11%
Thirty-nine percent of responding psychiatrists said they planned to change jobs
within the next year and, including those, more than half (52%) said they
planned to change jobs within 2 years. Thirty-eight percent of respondents
cited ‘higher compensation’ as the top reason for making a job change, while
27% cited ‘better work environment.’ However, 37% said they had no plans to
change jobs in the foreseeable future (down from 43% of 2006 respondents). (To
see complete psychiatrist survey results, click here:
http://www.locumtenens.com/psych-comp07.)
Career Choices Compared
Despite their frustration, more than three-fourths of responding psychiatrists
(79%) said they would choose medicine as a career path if they had it to do
over again. This compares with 77% of 2006 psychiatrist respondents and with
physicians from other specialties as follows:
77% of cardiologists
76% of internists
75% of pediatricians
69% of anesthesiologists
65% of general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and
radiologists
59% of obstetricians/gynecologists
Sixty-one percent of responding psychiatrists were male, 73% were
board-certified, and 80% were employed full-time. Respondents had practiced
psychiatry for an average of 19 years. Only about a third (32%) of respondents
said they had worked as a locum tenens provider, but another 58% said they
might consider it.
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