Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic reached its high point, physician burnout remains a persistent issue. Rates have dropped since the pandemic’s peak, but remain high and continue to impact the well-being of healthcare professionals. In this article, we examine the key drivers and provide strategies to address post-COVID stress in medical workers
When COVID-19 struck, physicians across the world faced a relentless workload, moral distress, and the trauma of working in uncertain, high-risk conditions. Surveys in 2021 reported record doctor fatigue, with some specialties exceeding 60%.* Many hoped the exhaustion and disengagement would subside once the pandemic eased.
Five years later, a more complex picture emerges. In the United States, national surveys indicate that physician burnout rates decreased from 62.8% during the height of the pandemic in 2021 to approximately 45.2% in 2023.* In contrast, in the United Kingdom, the Medical Defence Union reported in 2025 that one in three NHS doctors feel so tired that their ability to treat patients is impaired – a figure that raises immediate concerns for patient safety.*
Evidence suggests a mixed trend: while burnout rates appear lower than during the 2020–21 crisis years, chronic workload pressures and the lingering effects of the pandemic continue to undermine healthcare professionals’ well-being.
Have you noticed any changes in physician stress rates in your workplace since the COVID-19 pandemic? Share your perspective in the comments section below.
Physician Burnout Rates in 2025: Are They Really Falling?
In the US, physician burnout dropped to 45% in 2023 and 43.2% in 2024. This improvement over the pandemic’s peak remains higher than in other professions. Stanford Medicine researchers confirm this trend and note that rates still sit at a “worrying level” compared to historical baselines.*
In contrast to other regions, British surveys indicate that doctor fatigue and exhaustion remain entrenched. Over 30% of NHS doctors reported that tiredness compromises their ability to treat patients, with many experiencing near misses linked to exhaustion.* Compared to earlier periods, trainees and younger doctors now face even higher burnout risk than during the pandemic.*
Physician stress also varies by specialty. Obstetrics and gynaecology, emergency medicine, and palliative care continue to show higher rates than many other specialties. A 2022 study by Imperial College London found that 72% of obstetricians and gynaecologists met burnout criteria, compared with 36% before the COVID-19 pandemic.*
Post-COVID-19 Stress and Systemic Drivers of Physician Burnout
The continuing excess of care, staff shortages, and ceaseless demand prevent many physicians from recovering properly from the stress of the pandemic. Post-COVID stress now has a structural impact on the workplace: leaders expect fewer staff members to do more, and patients arrive later with more complex health needs than before.
Among the systemic drivers of the physician burnout crisis, there are:
- Staffing shortages: fewer colleagues allocated to longer shifts, with less flexibility.
- Administrative overload: doctors spend hours each day on documentation, which reduces the time available for patient care.
- Unpredictable rotas: especially in hospitals, shift unpredictability drives sleep disruption and doctor fatigue.
From a gender perspective, female physicians report higher burnout. Research indicates that women bear a higher workload, spend more time on electronic health records, and devote more time to each patient. Organisational culture factors and disproportionate responsibilities outside of work, including childcare and elder care, also reduce satisfaction with work-life integration and can contribute to physician stress.*
Organisational Support for Doctors and Strategies to Reduce Physician Burnout
A 2023 systematic review concluded that both organisational and individual interventions can reduce physician burnout and improve post-COVID stress symptoms, with structural changes having the greatest long-term effect.*
Examples of organisational support for doctors include reducing shift length and ensuring protected rest; increasing staffing to reduce workload intensity; and streamlining documentation tools, such as AI-enabled systems, to reduce administrative work time.
On the latter, one example is the adoption of ambient clinical listening tools, which capture and transcribe doctor-patient conversations directly into electronic health records, reducing the hours spent typing notes.
Individual approaches still matter, when paired with systemic change. Among them, we can consider:
- Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): controlled trials show improvements in doctor fatigue and anxiety when physicians use structured mindfulness or cognitive behavioural strategies.*
- Peer support programmes: team-based interventions also hold promise. Formal peer-support programmes, where colleagues can debrief after difficult cases, have been associated with greater resilience and lower physician stress scores.*
- Flexible scheduling: data from palliative care services suggest that clinicians working 20 hours or fewer each week are far less likely to experience burnout compared with their full-time counterparts. While not every specialty can offer such arrangements, flexible scheduling models (such as job-sharing and partial remote work for administrative tasks) are practical ways to mitigate chronic strain.*
Practical Steps to Protect Healthcare Professionals’ Well-being
Protecting doctors’ mental health and well-being begins with recognising that physician burnout often develops gradually. For physicians themselves, spotting early warning signs such as exhaustion, detachment, or a reduced sense of achievement is essential.
Many clinicians also report that prioritising rest, even in small ways, preserves health when pressure is unrelenting. These approaches do not shift the burden onto individuals; instead, they equip them with tools to navigate modern clinical practice.
At the same time, real progress depends on organisational support. Leaders who act to redesign rotas, ease administrative overload, and invest in workflow technology directly reduce the drivers of post-COVID stress. Protected rest periods and policies that value flexibility send a strong signal that well-being is not an alternative, but a professional necessity.
By monitoring doctor fatigue prevalence and responding with meaningful reform rather than rhetoric, medical organisations can safeguard both staff and patients. Together, these changes emphasise that sustaining the healthcare professionals’ well-being requires a balance of personal strategies and systemic responsibility.
What strategies have you found most effective in mitigating post-COVID stress? Add your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
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