We are all aware of the high risk of burnout in our specialty from the unique pressures of making critical decisions in patient care to difficult interactions with colleagues and/or patients to long work hours. To magnify the problem there are increasing reports about the workforce shortage confronting anesthesiology. Here in the United States we are facing a critical shortage of anesthesia staff according to multiple analyses: “The percentage of facilities reporting an anesthesia staffing shortage increased from 35% in early 2020 before the pandemic to 78% in late 2022.”¹ In the UK these challenges have reached the attention of the popular press with The Guardian reporting that a review by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA) concludes there is a shortage of 2,256 anaesthetists leading to an average of 4,000 procedures being cancelled per day.² This is the equivalent of 1.5 million surgeries being delayed annually because of anesthesia staffing shortages.

You are most likely seeing the effects of this shortage in your own practices. Some of the factors contributing to this growing imbalance between supply and demand for anesthesiologists include an aging workforce on the supply side and increasing requests for anesthesia services for non-operating room locations such as endoscopies and imaging procedures.³ Both the Anesthesiology article and the RCA report highlight the importance of increasing training positions in our specialty to help address this shortfall. Additional methods of improving retention include “initiatives to address burnout, harassment, incivility, and violence; an inclusive culture; flexible scheduling; and transition to retirement that keep physicians in the workforce.”³

As health care facilities continue to increase the locations and types of procedures for which anesthesia services are requested, the pressures on anesthesiologists, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Anesthesia Assistants, and trainees increase as well to work longer hours and cover more shifts. This predictably increases the risk of burnout as staff try to meet these growing needs with limited resources.

The ASA has several resources available on combating burnout, both on a personal level, as well as a professional level. In their statement “Organizational Guidelines for the Support of Physician Well-Being for Anesthesiology Practices” from the Committee on Physician Well-Being working Group on Systems & Policy, they make the following recommendations:

1. Appoint a wellness champion for your organization.
2. Routinely assess members’ current state of well-being.
3. Coordinate well-being efforts with organization leadership.⁴

The ASA provides an extensive list of resources to help foster these programs. If your institution has not yet started a wellness program, I encourage you to work with your leadership to investigate these resources to help foster an environment that promotes personal well-being and offers help to those who need it. Most importantly, this includes you, so I hope you are taking time this summer to enjoy some time off and get some much needed relaxation. I hope to see you at the upcoming SNACC Annual Meeting in beautiful Raleigh, NC!

References

1. https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2024/06/anesthesia-workforce-shortage-poses-threat-to-health-care
2. Cannesson, M., Peterson, M. D., Abouleish, A. E., Rathmell, J. P., Cole, D. J., Pomerantz, P., Miller, T. R., & Akeju, O. (2024). Closing the Chasm: Understanding and Addressing the Anesthesia Workforce Supply and Demand Imbalance. Anesthesiology, 141(2), 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005052
3. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/11/nhs-anaesthetist-shortage-prevents-operations
4. https://www.asahq.org/advocating-for-you/well-being#OR