Becker's Hospital Review

83 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY 29 physician specialties ranked by burnout rates By Mackenzie Bean C ritical care physicians have the high- est rates of burnout among all physi- cian specialties, according to a survey from Medscape. For the report, Medscape surveyed 12,339 physicians in more than 29 specialties from Aug. 30 to Nov. 5, 2020. Across all specialties, 42 percent of physi- cians reported burnout, the same percentage as in 2019. Here's how each specialty stacked up: Note: e list includes ties. 1. Critical care — 51 percent of physicians reported burnout 2. Rheumatology — 50 percent 3. Infectious diseases — 49 percent 3. Urology — 49 percent 4. Pulmonary medicine — 48 percent 5. Neurology — 47 percent 5. Family medicine — 47 percent 6. Internal medicine — 46 percent 7. Pediatrics — 45 percent 8. Obstetrics and gynecology — 44 percent 8. Emergency medicine — 44 percent 9. Cardiology — 43 percent 9. Nephrology — 43 percent 10. Physical medicine and rehabilitation — 41 percent 10. Psychiatry — 41 percent 11. Anesthesiology — 40 percent 11. Gastroenterology — 40 percent 12. Allergy and immunology — 39 percent 12. Diabetes and endocrinology — 39 per- cent 13. Radiology — 36 percent 14. Public health and preventive medicine — 35 percent 14. Ophthalmology — 35 percent 14. General surgery — 35 percent 14. Pathology — 35 percent 15. Otolaryngology — 33 percent 15. Orthopedics — 33 percent 15. Oncology — 33 percent 16. Plastic surgery — 31 percent 17. Dermatology — 29 percent n Power outage prompts Texas officials to quickly distribute 5K COVID-19 vaccines By Erica Carbajal T he Harris County (Texas) Health Department rushed to administer more than 5,000 vaccine doses Feb. 15 after a harsh winter storm left the Houston facility without power, ABC News reported. After the power loss, which affected much of the state, the facility's backup generator also failed, leaving 8,430 doses of Moderna vaccine at risk of spoiling. Houston health officials were able to distribute about 5,410 doses. The Harris County jail received 3,000 doses, Meth- odist Hospital received 1,000, Rice University got 810, and 600 doses were split between LBJ Hospital and Ben Taub Hospital, both in Houston, according to ABC News. "We were looking for places where there were already large numbers of people, or where there were nurses, trained medical professionals who could administer the vaccines, and where we wouldn't need folks to drive some- where in this very dangerous weather and snow condi- tions," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a Feb. 15 news conference. The county then received guidance from Moderna that the remaining doses could be re-refrigerated for later use, Ms. Hidalgo added. Those doses will be administered to peo- ple on the health department's existing wait list. n US nursing school enrollments rose 6% in 2020 By Kelly Gooch N ursing schools last year saw a 6 percent increase in enrollment in bachelor's degree nursing programs, to 250,856, according to a survey cited Feb. 18 by Kaiser Health News. The finding is based on preliminary data from an annual American Association of Colleges of Nursing survey of 900 nursing schools. Several factors likely contribute to the finding. Deborah Traut- man, PhD, RN, president and CEO of the association, suggest- ed that an increased visibility of nurses during the pandemic may be playing a role. "In the pandemic we saw an increased visibility of nurses, and I think that's been inspirational to many people," she told Kaiser Health News. "It's a profession where you can make a difference." David Benton, CEO of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, also suggested that the profession may be under consideration by some people who previously earned nurs- ing degrees but did not practice. He told the publication the number of nurses who were educated in the U.S. and took the National Council Licensure Examination for nurses in 2020 jumped 5 percent from 2019. Although two-year associate nursing degree programs ap- pear to be seeing a similar increase as bachelor's programs, hard numbers are unavailable, Laura Schmidt, president of the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, said in the report. n

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