Working in healthcare is genuinely one of the hardest jobs out there, and it takes a certain kind of person to do it well. After all, it takes years of studying just to even qualify for the role.
Then you step into an environment where you’re responsible for other people’s health every single day. The hours are long and the pace is relentless, and most days there’s barely a minute to sit down with a coffee. Tiring just thinking about it.
And most of the time, medical professionals are dealing with way more than just tiredness. Burnout is incredibly common across the field.
Research has found burnout rates of over 70% among doctors and nurses, with 56% in dietitians, 43% in emergency staff, and 40% in midwives. That’s a significant portion of the people we rely on to keep us healthy.
It’s also worth remembering that burnout in healthcare doesn’t only affect the people experiencing it. When the professionals responsible for our health are running on empty, patients can feel that too, and in some cases it can put them at real risk.
A 2025 survey of 1,000 registered nurses in the United States found that nearly three in four felt emotionally drained from work multiple times a week, and almost half worried that their exhaustion might one day lead them to make a medication error.
So why is burnout so common across the medical field? One reason is simply the nature of the job itself.
Healthcare workers are constantly surrounded by illness and suffering. Depending on the field, witnessing people in pain or even passing away can become a regular part of the working day, and that’s not something that’s easy to just shake off.
“People in these situations often feel a sense of powerlessness and hopelessness. These are normal reactions, yet attempts to suppress and avoid them only makes things worse,” Petri Aspegren, a lecturer at the Oulu University of Applied Sciences in Finland, told the World Health Organization (WHO).
He believes it’s important that people whose work involves distressing situations are given a safe space to share their experiences and express themselves openly.
Working conditions play a big role too. “It is well known that health workers often have to cope with high workloads, long working hours and a lack of flexibility, all of which impact on their mental and physical health,” Petri added.
Redistributing those workloads and giving healthcare workers a genuine work-life balance with enough time to rest and recover would go a long way.
