Physician Well-Being, Burnout Symptoms, and Workplace Characteristics Among CARRA-Member Pediatric Rheumatologists in North America: Findings from a 2024 Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Physician burnout threatens clinician well-being, job satisfaction, retention, and access to care. Pediatric rheumatology faces documented workforce shortages, yet little specialty-specific information exists regarding physician well-being, burnout symptoms, and workplace characteristics. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive survey of CARRA-registered pediatric rheumatologists in North America between January and March 2024. Participants completed the Mayo Clinic Well-Being Index (WBI), followed by the AMA Organizational Biopsy® survey incorporating the Mini-Z 2.0 and demographic/workplace questions. Descriptive statistics summarized physician well-being, burnout symptoms, and workplace characteristics. Differences in WBI scores across response categories for two WBI anchor items assessing work–life integration and work meaningfulness were evaluated using ANOVA. AMA workplace data were available only in aggregate form and could not be linked to individual WBI responses. Results: Of 330 invited pediatric rheumatologists, 164 (49.7%) completed the WBI survey and 145 (88.4%) completed the redirected AMA survey. The mean WBI score was 2.7 (SD 1.9), and 36.0% scored ≥4. On the Mini-Z single-item measure, 48.3% of respondents endorsed at least one category consistent with burnout symptoms; by comparison, 64.0% endorsed the WBI item asking whether they had felt burned out from work during the past month. Frequently reported workplace challenges included documentation burden (56.6%), EHR-related frustration (59.3%), and after-hours EHR work (55.2%). Work–life integration was significantly associated with WBI scores (ANOVA p < 0.001), whereas meaningfulness of work was not (p = 0.26). Conclusions: Indicators of burnout symptoms and occupational distress were common among the responding pediatric rheumatologists. Frequently reported workplace challenges and the observed association between work–life integration and WBI scores identify potential areas for future organizational well-being initiatives.