Physician burnout has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges of the modern healthcare era. Long hours, administrative overload, high patient volumes, and insufficient institutional support are all contributing to this epidemic. According to a recent study—and after adjusting for age, gender, relationship status, and work hours—physicians were 82.3%1 more likely to be experiencing burnout than U.S. workers in other occupations.
But the consequences of physician burnout extend beyond individual well-being, they affect the entire healthcare system. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates the United States could face a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 20362—an alarming figure that underscores the severity of the consequences of an overburdened workforce.
When burnout drives physicians to leave the workforce prematurely, costs compound rapidly. In fact, the American Medical Association (AMA) estimates that physician burnout currently costs the U.S. healthcare system approximately $4.6 billion annually in lost productivity, reduced clinical hours, and turnover-related expenses.3
Amid Rising Physician Shortages, Rural America is Suffering the Most
Physician shortages related to burnout and other factors are critically undermining healthcare access in rural America, which is now commonly referred to as a “medical desert.” Characterized by a population of 30,000,000 or more patients who live at least 60 minutes from a hospital with trauma services, this population is served by only 9% of total U.S. physicians.4
This disparity is exacerbated by an aging rural physician workforce—with over half of rural doctors aged 50 or older—leading to a projected 23% decline in rural physicians by 2030 due to retirements.4
Rural areas have approximately 30 physicians or specialists per 100,000 people, compared to 263 in urban areas.5 This scarcity leads to delayed care, increased travel distances for patients, and higher rates of chronic diseases and mortality.
Spotlight on Surgical Services: A Vital Area at Risk
Surgeon burnout presents a profound and escalating challenge for rural hospitals across the United States. Per Richard L. Makowiec, MD, MBA, and Chief Medical Officer at Synergy Health Partners, “Surgeon burnout is real—and it’s creating critical workforce gaps as seasoned surgeons retire early or scale back.”
Unlike urban hospitals that often have backup providers or specialized support, rural facilities operate with limited staff, meaning even a single surgeon’s reduced performance or departure can jeopardize surgical services for an entire region.6
In rural areas, where healthcare access is already constrained by geographic and economic barriers, these effects are magnified. For example, if surgical services are interrupted due to provider attrition or reduced availability, patients with conditions requiring urgent intervention—such as appendicitis, trauma, or cancer—may experience worse outcomes or forego care altogether.7
Furthermore, the loss of surgical capabilities may lead to the financial decline of rural hospitals, many of which rely on surgical procedures to maintain revenue streams. This can trigger a cascading effect that threatens the viability of other departments, ultimately placing additional strain on the remaining healthcare workforce and creating a vicious cycle of overwork, dissatisfaction, and attrition that can even lead to a heightened risk of hospital closures.
Community Level Effects
The consequences for rural communities are profound. Surgeons in rural areas often play multiple roles, making them integral not only to health infrastructure but also to community trust and resilience.
Burnout can erode these relationships, leading to increased turnover and a sense of instability in local healthcare. This, in turn, can dissuade other healthcare professionals from relocating to or remaining in rural areas, exacerbating workforce shortages. The cumulative impact of surgeon burnout in rural communities is not just a workforce issue—it is a threat to the long-term health, stability, and sustainability of rural America.
Traditional Staffing Models are Proving to be too Costly
Many healthcare systems—including those in rural communities—have relied on traditional, short-term, staffing models such as the use of locum tenens to fill in vacancies caused by not only physician burnout but also during vacations, leaves of absence, or during times of high or seasonal demand.
As the realization that locum tenens physicians can be prohibitively expensive for the thin financial margins in rural facilities, they are looking for alternatives to stem the tide of physician burnout and its resulting shortages in staffing.
To combat these mounting costs, Dr. Makowiec suggests an approach where healthcare providers look to new and more innovative staffing models such as the surgicalist model, an approach to healthcare staffing where surgeons are employed specifically to provide dedicated, on-site surgical care, typically for emergency or unassigned surgical cases, without the responsibility of maintaining a traditional private practice.
This model has demonstrated its effectiveness at prolonging careers, offering a better work life balance, and helping redistribute surgeons from urban to rural areas while still providing a more cost-effective solution. “At a time when surgeon shortages and burnout threaten the stability of surgical care, surgicalist programs provide a proven, high-performance solution,” says Dr. Makowiec.
For example, with Surgicalist programs, rural facilities gain access to:
- 24/7 surgical coverage: Surgicalists are present or on-call to provide immediate care, reducing delays and surgical backlogs.
- Predictable staffing: Hospitals benefit from a consistent, dependable team without having to rely on community surgeons with conflicting office schedules.
- Predictable costs: Hospital CFOs appreciate the price certainty of a consistent monthly stipend without worrying about locums “surge pricing,” particularly in these volatile financial times with razor thin margins.
- Improved continuity: Surgicalists manage patient care from admission to discharge, which enhances communication and outcomes.
- Burnout prevention: By eliminating after-hours calls for community surgeons and providing structured shifts, a surgicalist model supports better work-life balance.
- Cost-efficiency: Reduces dependence on locum tenens surgeons or costly transfers due to lack of surgical coverage.
The key for any healthcare facility, especially in more rural areas, is to look for innovative and cost-certain staffing solutions for different physician specialties in an effort to curb the effects of burnout and staffing interruptions.
Conclusion
Physician burnout and its associated staffing shortages are interlinked challenges that threaten the efficacy of the U.S. healthcare system at large. For rural healthcare, addressing these issues requires a multifaceted approach that includes organizational changes and a willingness to embrace innovative and cost-certain staffing models for different physician specialties, along with human resource solutions that help curb the effects of burnout.
By prioritizing physician well-being and implementing supportive structures rural hospitals can enhance provider satisfaction and improve patient care outcomes. Per Dr. Makowiec, “Rural healthcare leaders must act now: adopt flexible staffing, invest in surgeon well-being, and protect access for the communities they serve.” The cumulative impact of surgeon burnout in rural communities is not just a workforce issue—it is a threat to the long-term health, stability, and sustainability of rural America.
Contact Us Today
To learn more about Synergy Health Partners’ Surgicalist Model and how we can help facilities in rural or urban areas create a plan that streamlines workforce management, contact us here.
Footnotes
1John Sanford, Stanford Medicine News Center, U.S. physician burnout rates drop yet remain worryingly high, Stanford Medicine-led study finds, https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/04/doctor-burnout-rates-what-they-mean.html
2Association of American Medical Colleges, New AAMN Report Shows Continued Projected Physician Shortage, https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/new-aamc-report-shows-continuing-projected-physician-shortage
3Dhruv Khullar, MD, MPP, JAMA Network, JAMA Health Forum, Burnout, Professionalism, and the Quality of US Health Care, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2802872
4Wikipedia, Medical Deserts in the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_deserts_in_the_United_States
5Patrick Cooley, Farm and Dairy, Rural doctor shortage is impacting patient care, outcomes,
6American College of Surgeons. (2021). Maintaining Surgical Services in Rural America: A Call to Action. https://www.facs.org7Kaufman, B. G., Thomas, S. R., Randolph, R. K., et al. (2016). The Journal of Rural Health, 32(1), 35–43. The Rising Rate of Rural Hospital Closures, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26171848/
