It’s an uncomfortable question with a clear answer: medical professionals—despite being among the most essential members of society—are burning out, dropping out, and speaking out. And for good reason.
Nurses, doctors, and other clinicians aren’t just struggling—they’re drowning. And the systems meant to support them are often the very ones dragging them under.
Sarah M. Worthy, CEO of DoorSpace, claims: “For far too long, medical employees have been handed the short end of the stick when it comes to fair compensation and benefits, despite being the backbone of the healthcare system.”
Let’s start with compensation. While it’s easy to assume that everyone in scrubs is living comfortably, that’s a myth. Yes, some physicians earn high salaries, but the majority of medical professionals are not raking in six figures. Nurses, techs, aides, behavioral health workers, and countless other roles—many of whom are essential to hospital operations—are often underpaid, overworked, and overlooked. For example, a registered nurse in many parts of the country earns only marginally more than a barista or retail worker, despite carrying the weight of people’s lives on their shoulders daily. The disconnect between responsibility and reward is staggering.
Even for those with “higher” salaries, the cost of becoming a healthcare provider—both financially and emotionally—often negates the benefits. Medical school debt can hover well over $200,000. Residency programs offer grueling hours for modest pay, and specialties like primary care and pediatrics—arguably the backbone of any functional healthcare system—tend to come with the lowest financial compensation. The result? Burnout begins before a career even truly starts.
And then there’s the workload.
Clinicians routinely work 12-hour shifts (that often stretch to 14 or more). They go days without proper meals, sleep in hospital call rooms, and miss birthdays, holidays, and milestones with their families. Unlike most professions, healthcare doesn’t allow for a bad day. There’s no rescheduling a surgery or skipping a medication round. The margin for error is razor-thin, and the stakes are life or death.
“While hospitals and healthcare corporations rake in billions, the very workers keeping patients alive are forced to accept stagnant wages, grueling hours, and minimal support,” asserts Worthy.
Burnout isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a public health emergency in itself.
There’s a culture in medicine that glorifies stoicism—“just push through,” “patients come first,” “you signed up for this.” These mantras have been drilled into generations of clinicians. But the cost of that silence is devastating. Suicides among medical professionals remain alarmingly high, particularly among female physicians. And when providers do reach out for help, they often face stigma, retaliation, or threats to their licensure.
Worthy, a longtime advocate for clinician well-being and the founder of a healthcare innovation platform, has spent years listening to medical professionals tell their stories. Over and over, what she hears is not just exhaustion—but grief. Grief for patients lost. Grief for the parts of themselves sacrificed to the system. And grief for the dream of what healthcare was supposed to be.
What’s clear is this: our healthcare system is sustained by human beings—ones who are not immune to fatigue, pain, or frustration. And yet, these same people are often treated like machines. Replaceable. Silent. Expected to carry on, no matter the toll.
The irony? We call them heroes. We applaud them during national crises. We rely on them for our most vulnerable moments. And then, we send them back into a system that too often chews them up and spits them out.
If society truly valued its healers, their well-being would be a top priority. That means fair compensation. Reasonable hours. Mental health support. Safer workplaces. And most of all, respect—not just in words, but in action.
Because when we fail our medical professionals, we don’t just lose workers. We lose care. We lose safety. We lose trust.
And we cannot afford to lose any more.