Several demographic and personal characteristics were identified to be predictive of burnout among the sexual medicine urology community, indicating opportunities for additional support.
Overall burnout was reported by 24% of urologists specializing in sexual medicine.
Younger age was identified as a significant predictor of overall burnout in adjusted analysis.
Black/African American or multiracial race compared to white race was the strongest predictor of overall burnout.
Female sex, being unmarried, and increased educational debt were each associated with higher overall burnout.
Dissatisfaction with work-life balance was significantly associated with increased burnout across all burnout categories.
This study represents the first characterization of burnout specifically among urologists specializing in sexual medicine.
This research surveyed 96 urologists who specialize in sexual medicine to understand how common burnout is in this specific medical subspecialty and what factors predict it. Using a validated tool called the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the researchers found that roughly one in four of these physicians reported overall burnout, with even higher rates for work-related burnout (about 39%) and personal burnout (about 35%). This is the first study to examine burnout specifically in this group of specialists. The study identified several characteristics associated with higher burnout risk: being younger, identifying as Black/African American or multiracial (compared to white), having a Latino or Hispanic background, being female, being unmarried, and carrying higher educational debt. Dissatisfaction with work-life balance was strongly linked to burnout across every category measured. These findings suggest that burnout in this field is not random but is patterned along demographic and personal lines, with certain groups facing a substantially higher burden. This research suggests that medical institutions and professional organizations could use these findings to better target support initiatives toward physicians who face the greatest burnout risk — including those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, and those with significant student loan debt. The authors note that the relatively small sample size is a limitation and call for future studies to build on this initial benchmark data for the sexual medicine urology community.
Schrup S, Hanley M, May E, Jones J, Ziegelmann M, Gross M. (2025). Burnout and career satisfaction among urologists specializing in sexual health.. The journal of sexual medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdaf074