A 2022 national study of U.S. medical doctors revealed a burnout rate of 63%.1 Studies of burnout within the chiropractic profession are limited, but a 2013 survey found northeastern DCs reporting high (18%) or moderate (24%) levels of emotional exhaustion.2
A recent randomized clinical trial looked at a particular intervention to reduce burnout / emotional exhaustion among medical doctors. The study included 184 physicians from two medical centers.3
In examining the efficacy of this intervention, investigators noted that “the 54.0% reduction in the odds of overall burnout at 6 months observed in this study could lead to meaningfully lower rates of self-reported medical errors, malpractice litigation, turnover and lost productivity, along with reduced associated costs to health systems and society.”
This single intervention not only reduced doctor burnout, but also provided an improvement in resilience scores that “exceeded that observed in previous intervention studies.” In addition, the “gains in well-being seen during the first 6 months of this study persisted among the intervention participants during the subsequent 6 months of the study, with mean quality of life score statistically improving from month 6 to month 12 among participants in the immediate intervention.”
The intervention achieved these improvements in burnout, resilience and quality of life by providing doctors with a way to monitor their physiological data including sleep, step count and heart rate. This aided doctors in focusing on their own health in much the same way they would recommend to their patients.
The intervention: a smartwatch. While simple in application, the introduction of a smartwatch and its associated reporting capacity made a significant difference in the lives of the participating medical doctors. According to the paper, because smartwatches “provide quantitative measures of one’s physiological functioning (e.g., heart rate, sleep cycles, and sleep quality) and behaviors (e.g., physical activity and sleep length per hour in bed),” having access to such data “could promote greater self-awareness and self-regulation – key components of well-being.”
The lesson from this study is simple, but important: Be your own best patient. Be the kind of patient you wish all your patients were like. Don’t neglect your own well-being assuming you will be “OK’ without the care you provide your patients. In doing so, you teach by example.
If you don’t already wear a smartwatch – or have one, but don’t use the tracking / reporting tools – give yourself the gift of a brighter future. Take your own health seriously. You have many years of chiropractic to provide, many patients to care for and a wonderful life to live.
References
On Oct. 21, 2025, a judge in Florida issued a groundbreaking decision in Complete Care v State Farm, 25-CA-1063. It concerns a fact pattern that many chiropractic doctors have faced wherein an insurer, such as State Farm or Allstate, decides to simply stop paying all claims submitted by a healthcare provider.
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Adjusted Reality, the new book by Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) President, Dr. Sherry McAllister, promoting chiropractic and whole-being health, is already making waves as a Barnes & Noble and Amazon bestseller. As of mid-November, the book ranked #1 and #2 in the Barnes & Noble Top 100 Bestselling NOOK eBook lists in the Diet, Health & Fitness and Medicine & Nursing categories, respectively; and in multiple categories on Amazon.
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