issues within medicine. With all of this  negativity, you might think that medicine  

is a dying career or that all physicians are  burned out and miserable. Not so fast. There  

are still many physicians who lead happy and  fulfilling lives and love their jobs. Let’s  

talk about physician happiness and what you can do  to enjoy a fulfilling career as a future doctor. 

Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com. Despite what the media might have you believe,  

the data suggests that most physicians are  actually pretty happy. Approximately 60% of  

physicians report feeling happy outside of  work and 73% report that they would choose  

medicine again. Although this shouldn’t be used  as an excuse not to address the issues within  

medicine and medical education, the situation  is not as grim as some people make it out to be. 

According to Medscape’s 2020 Physician Lifestyle  and Happiness Report, the specialties with the  

greatest proportion of happy physicians were  rheumatology at number one followed by general  

surgery, public health & preventive medicine,  allergy & immunology, and orthopedics. The bottom  

five were neurology, critical care, internal  medicine, gastroenterology, and endocrinology. 

In 2019, the top 5 happiest specialties were  rheumatology first, followed by otolaryngology,  

endocrinology, pediatrics, and general surgery  and the bottom five were neurology, infectious  

disease, cardiology, pathology, and oncology. Despite rheumatology remaining in the top  

position and neurology remaining in the bottom  position, there is minimal overlap between the  

two years. Endocrinology, despite being a  top 5 specialty in 2019, found itself in the  

bottom five in that same list in 2020. Although  significant year-to-year changes are possible,  

it’s more likely that these are limitations of the  study which uses survey data and self-reporting.  

So if specialty choice is not a reliable factor,  what actually influences physician happiness? 

To start, many people are drawn to medicine due  to the desire to help others. It should come as no  

surprise then that relationships are an important  factor when it comes to physician happiness. 

According to research, approximately 27%  of physicians report patient gratitude and  

relationships as the most rewarding part  of their job, and 23% report knowing that  

they’re making the world a better place as  the most rewarding part. Moreover, a 2022  

study found that patient connection and visible  impact are common traits among happy physicians. 

As a doctor, you have the ability to significantly  improve the quality of life of your patients. Not  

only is this often tremendously satisfying,  but it also provides you with something that’s  

difficult to find–purpose. When you feel  like you’re working for a larger purpose,  

you’re more likely to enjoy your work and are  more resilient to setbacks and challenging times. 

In addition to relationships with patients,  relationships with peers and colleagues have  

also been shown to be an important factor when  it comes to physician happiness. If we look  

to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, connection  and belonging are universal human needs–and  

doctors are no exception. Having a sense of  community, connection, and belonging as a  

physician is key to having a happy career. Although intrinsic factors such as purpose  

and meaning are incredibly important  for happiness, extrinsic factors such  

as money still play a role. Approximately  10% of physicians report making good money  

at a job that they like as the most rewarding  part of their job and 28% report insufficient  

compensation as a major source of burnout. According to Medscape’s Physician Compensation  

report, the top 5 highest-paid specialties in 2022  were plastic surgery, orthopedics, cardiology,  

otolaryngology, and urology. The bottom  five were public health and preventive  

medicine, pediatrics, family medicine,  endocrinology, and infectious disease. 

Perhaps even more important than total  compensation, however, is your perception of your  

compensation. If you feel that there is a mismatch  between the work that you do and the salary that  

you earn, you are more likely to feel unhappy. The  top five specialties with the greatest proportion  

of doctors that feel fairly compensated are  public health and preventive medicine, oncology,  

plastic surgery, psychiatry, and dermatology. Although total compensation factors into the  

perception of your pay being fair, it’s  clear from the top 5 that how you earn  

your salary also plays a role. Despite being  in the bottom five for total compensation,  

public health and preventive medicine ranks number  one in terms of feeling fairly compensated. This  

brings us to our next factor that influences  physician happiness which is work-life balance. 

According to research, approximately 55%  of doctors would take a salary reduction  

to have better work-life balance with the  median physician willing to give up between  

$20,000 and $50,000 per year to achieve it. Work-life balance is influenced by various  

factors including number of hours worked and how  predictable or unpredictable the work hours are,  

which is largely a function of being on call.  This is why specialties such as dermatology  

tend to rank highly in terms of work-life balance.  Dermatologists typically don’t take call and work  

fewer hours per week than most other physicians. That being said, other factors such as the amount  

of time spent with patients versus the time spent  charting and doing other administrative work also  

influence physician happiness. One interesting  finding is that the use of medical scribes can  

significantly improve physician satisfaction.  This makes sense as they decrease the amount of  

time that physicians spend charting and give them  more time with patients–both of which are major  

contributors to the next point which is burnout. Burnout has been a popular topic in medicine  

in recent years and can negatively impact  a physician’s happiness. According to the  

literature, issues such as too much charting  and paperwork, too many hours at work,  

lack of respect, insufficient compensation, and  lack of autonomy are major sources of burnout. 

The top 5 specialties with the highest levels of  burnout are emergency medicine, critical care,  

OB/GYN, infectious disease, and family  medicine, and the top 5 specialties with the  

least are public health and preventive medicine,  dermatology, pathology, oncology, and orthopedics. 

It should be noted, however, that burnout is an  issue that affects every specialty. Although these  

are the specialties with the highest rates  of burnout, you’re likely to find physicians  

who are burned out no matter what specialty  you’re looking at. Similarly, you’re bound  

to find physicians who are enthusiastic and enjoy  their job in every specialty as well. Regardless,  

mitigating burnout is an important part  of maintaining happiness as a physician. 

To learn more about the topic of burnout and the  various ways to minimize it in your own life,  

be sure to check out Why Are Doctors Miserable -  the Burnout Epidemic – link in the description. 

So how should this data influence your choice of  specialty? Should everyone go into dermatology  

or preventive medicine? Of course not. At the end of the day, there are multiple  

factors that you should consider when choosing  your specialty. If you’re on the fence,  

knowing what specialties tend to be the happiest  on average may help sway your decision; however,  

it should not be a primary consideration. Instead of looking at other people’s happiness,  

it’s much more important to examine your own.  Find a specialty that you enjoy and speaks to  

your strengths instead of just choosing  the one that you feel is the happiest. 

Two factors that people often don’t consider with  these lists are the sampling and self-selection  

biases. This data represents only a very small  sample of the larger doctor population and it may  

not be entirely representative. And just because  60% of general surgeons in that sample report  

being happy doesn’t mean that 60% of doctors would  be happy becoming general surgeons. These are  

doctors who have already chosen their specialties.  It’s a subtle, but important distinction. 

In addition, lifestyle factors  such as compensation, hours worked,  

and administrative burden are highly variable.  It’s entirely possible to carve out your own  

niche and create the lifestyle that you want  no matter what specialty you choose. As Plastic  

Surgeon Dr. Goldman said in his interview  on the Kevin Jubbal, M.D. YouTube channel,  

“what you do with your specialty is more  important than what specialty you choose.” 

That being said, don’t fall into the trap I’ve  seen many succumb to. I’ve come across dozens  

of residents and even attending physicians  who wanted to do a different specialty,  

like dermatology or plastic surgery, but  ultimately had to compromise to something  

less competitive because they weren’t strong  enough for the specialty they truly desired. 

If you think you’re not the smartest and that  you’re doomed, stop right there. Your ability  

to crush your MCAT, USMLE, and have dozens  of research articles is less a function of  

your intelligence and more a function of  proper preparation, constantly improving,  

and putting in the work. Having a stellar  medical school or residency application and  

crushing the interviews is no different. At Med School Insiders, our mission is  

to empower a generation of happier, healthier,  and more effective future doctors. From medical  

school or residency application help to crushing  your MCAT or USMLE, we’ve got your back. And our  

results speak for themselves. We’ve become  the fastest growing company in this space  

with the highest satisfaction ratings. See for  yourself and learn more at MedSchoolInsiders.com. 

Thank you all so much for watching. If you  enjoyed this video, be sure to check out the  

Best Doctor Lifestyle Specialties or this other  video. Much love, and I’ll see you guys there.