Burnout has severe personal consequences, including low sleep quality, alcohol abuse/dependence, depression, and suicidal ideation

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the limitations and stated challenges of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2024 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 30 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Sports Medicine Physician Burnout—American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Survey Findings (2026) · Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine · doi

  Despite being a representative sample of sports medicine physicians based on demographics, only 682 of 3436 eligible AMSSM physicians participated in the survey, and only 78% of those completed the survey. The survey itself likely has limitations as the first iteration specific to sports medicine physicians. Several respondents commented that they have hybrid practices or only do a small percentage of work in a sports medicine setting so they were unsure how to answer the burnout questions. Some retired members were also unsure whether they should complete the survey because they are no longer in clinical practice. RESEARCH AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS Solutions proposed to address burnout include addressing our health system culture and 2 efficiency of practice. Medical organizations and sports medicine physicians can use these data to help advocate for systemic changes at all levels including; reducing administrative tasks, EMR efficiency, and increased compensation given our unique roles in caring for athletes. Because this is the first study on burnout in US sports medicine physicians, more research is needed to clarify and define the key drivers of burnout and evaluate mitigation strategies. Findings from this study suggest that although sports medicine physicians are generally satisfied with their jobs and work with efficient teams, they still have high rates of burnout. EMR and administrative burdens, poor alignment with leadership values, and inadequate time and compensation are key drivers of physician burnout among sports medicine physicians. Physicians are often advised to rely on their personal resiliency as another proposed strategy to address burnout. Medical organizations can use these data as a framework to educate their membership and provide useful strategies for self-care and work–life integration so physicians can align their values with meaningful work. Physician leaders can also use these data to discuss and evaluate burnout within their department, specifically acknowledging and addressing the factors unique to sports medicine physicians. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This study was supported by the Research Services Hub, in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School.

  generallimitationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: physicians medicine sports burnout survey medical speci unsure practice proposed address addressing health ciency organizations
• The impact of athlete burnout on academic burnout among college athletes: a multiple mediation model based on emotion regulation and sleep (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · cited 6× · doi

  College athletes face dual demands from training and academics, increasing their risk of both athletic and academic burnout. The study aims to explore the complex relationships between college athlete burnout, cognitive reappraisal, sleep quality, and academic burnout. The researchers need to develop effective interventions to support student-athletes' academic adjustment and mental health.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: college athletes face dual demands training academics increasing
• The associations between resilience, self-care, and burnout among medical students (2024) · PLoS ONE · cited 24× · doi

  Burnout has severe personal consequences, including low sleep quality, alcohol abuse/dependence, depression, and suicidal ideation. Burnout has negative professional implications for medical students, including academic problems, decreased altruistic professional values, suboptimal patient care, and medical errors. The study had a limited sample size of 95 medical students.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: burnout has severe personal consequences including low sleep

Questions about this gap