New research shows that burnout among lesbian, gay, and bisexual medical students is notably higher than among their heterosexual peers, raising concerns about the future health workforce.
Orientation‑related mistreatment drives higher burnout rates
The study examined responses from more than 26,000 graduates who completed the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) annual questionnaire in 2016 and 2017. Researchers found that 17.2% of students identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual reported burnout, compared with 11.1% of straight students.
Students who said they faced frequent mistreatment because of their sexual orientation were more than eight times as likely to experience burnout. The same analysis revealed that 27% of these learners reported public humiliation, while the figure for heterosexual peers was 20.7%.
Only about 1% of straight respondents said they had been mistreated due to sexual orientation, versus 23.3% of the LGBTQ‑identified group. These gaps persisted even after accounting for typical stressors such as heavy workloads and financial strain.
Study highlights need for institutional reform
Lead author Dr. Elizabeth A. Samuels of Brown University emphasized that the health and well‑being of trainees directly affect patient care quality and physician retention. “Understanding how the current medical training environment impacts lesbian, gay, and bisexual medical students is critical for improving their training experience, building and retaining a workforce of LGBTQ physicians, and also delivering optimal care to all patients,” she said.
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The research points to a culture where many LGBTQ‑identified learners conceal their orientation out of fear of discrimination. This concealment adds an extra layer of anxiety on top of the already intense demands of medical education, potentially leading to depression and poorer overall health.
One way to address the problem, according to the authors, is to expand mentorship programs and create more inclusive institutional policies. Such steps could help reduce the mental‑health toll and improve the learning environment for all trainees.
While the study confirms that mistreatment is a major factor, it does not fully explain the higher burnout prevalence. The authors suggest that broader societal pressures and internalized stigma also play a role, meaning solutions must go beyond simple anti‑harassment training.
From a broader perspective, the findings illustrate how intersecting stressors—general medical training pressures combined with orientation‑based bias—can compound to erode resilience. If institutions ignore these compounded risks, they may lose a generation of physicians who could otherwise serve diverse patient populations.
Data from the survey also show that nearly half of all U.S. trainees report some level of burnout, showing that the issue is not confined to any single group. However, the disparity highlighted in this study suggests that targeted interventions are needed to close the gap.
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Dr. Samuels noted that the AAMC only added sexual‑orientation questions to its graduation questionnaire in 2016, providing the first large‑scale opportunity to assess these experiences. The new data set allowed researchers to combine gay, lesbian, and bisexual identifiers into a single analytical category, facilitating a clearer comparison with straight peers.
In the publication JAMA Network Open, the authors call for medical schools to adopt robust support systems, including safe reporting mechanisms and visible leadership commitment to diversity. They argue that such measures are essential not only for trainee welfare but also for reducing health inequities faced by LGBTQ patients.
The medical community digests these findings.
The hope is that policy changes will follow, ensuring that future physicians can train without the added burden of orientation‑based mistreatment.