Pathology was among the physician specialties reporting the lowest levels of burnout in 2025, according to new data released by the American Medical Association (AMA).
The findings come from the AMA's National Physician Comparison Report, which analyzed nearly 19,000 physician responses from 106 health systems and organizations across 38 states. Overall, 41.9% of physicians reported experiencing at least one symptom of burnout in 2025, down from 43.2% in 2024 and 48.2% in 2023.
Among all specialties evaluated, pathology reported a burnout rate of 28.3%, placing it among the six lowest-burnout specialties in the survey. Only infectious diseases (23.3%) and ophthalmology (25.8%) reported lower rates. Nephrology (29.3%), dermatology (31.5%), and psychiatry (31.6%) also ranked among the specialties with comparatively low levels of burnout.
By contrast, emergency medicine physicians reported the highest burnout rate at 49.8%, followed by urological surgery (49.5%) and hematology/oncology (49.3%).
The AMA report assessed physician well-being using five key performance indicators: burnout, job satisfaction, job stress, intent to leave, and feeling valued. According to the organization, four of the five indicators showed statistically significant improvement between 2024 and 2025, reflecting broader gains in physician engagement and workplace well-being.
While the report did not examine factors contributing to burnout rates within individual specialties, the findings highlight notable differences across medical disciplines. For pathology leaders and healthcare organizations, the data suggest that professional well-being in the specialty compares favorably with national physician benchmarks at a time when workforce sustainability remains a concern across health care.
The survey findings were based on responses collected through the AMA Organizational Biopsy program during the past year.
Note: This news summary was generated by AI based on a published press release, followed by a review from human editors.
