Johnson & Johnson Releases Report on Surgeon Burnout as More than 40% Surveyed Consider Leaving the Profession

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ, Feb. 3, 2026 - Johnson & Johnson today released Behind the mask: The hidden toll of surgeon burnout, a report assessing the state of burnout amongst surgeons and exploring potential solutions to relieve strain. Capturing feedback from more than 1,500 surgeons across five countries and multiple specialties, the report finds that more than half of surgeons surveyed feel burned out - and over 40% have considered leaving surgery as a result.

As many health systems consider the patient impact of anticipated surgeon shortages in the coming decade¹ and with the high cost of replacing surgeons² who leave the field, the findings point to an urgent need to address the pressures undermining surgeon well-being and threatening the stability of the surgical workforce.

"Surgeons are expert scientists and clinicians who are deeply passionate about helping patients, so to have surgeons considering leaving the field due to burnout signals a growing risk about the sustainability of surgical care," said Hani Abouhalka, Company Group Chair, Surgery, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson. "Burnout is an unfortunately common and deeply human experience in healthcare, and we believe that bringing the experiences of surgeons further into the open is a critical step toward fully understanding the challenge and better serving the people behind surgery."

Driven by purpose, surgeons face mental, physical and moral fatigue
The report finds that most surgeons feel highly motivated in their work, but that number drops for those who are experiencing burnout. Early- to mid-career surgeons, female surgeons, and bariatric specialists also reported higher levels of strain. Overall, just 36% of surgeons worldwide rated their mental health as positive.

Respondents rated difficulty devoting enough time to family (48%), administrative burden (47%) and long hours (44%) as the most significant contributors to stress. Beyond physical and emotional exhaustion, the survey highlights the ethical stress common in surgical practice. Surgeons routinely make high-stake, time-sensitive decisions, often under significant system constraints. More than eight in ten surgeons (82%) reported experiencing emotional distress or self-doubt following poor patient outcomes, while 66% said they sometimes feel forced to compromise patient care due to systemic pressures.

That strain does not end when surgeons leave the operating room. Three quarters (76%) said high-stakes decisions negatively affect their well-being, and 71% stated the stress from ethical dilemmas lingers beyond the operating room, affecting mental well-being. Physical exhaustion amplified mental fatigue for 76% of respondents, and 58% said ethical strain slows their efficiency.
Together, these findings show that moral fatigue affects not only how surgeons feel, but how they perform.

"Surgeon burnout is not a personal failing - it's a complex system challenge," said Africa Wallace, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Surgery, MedTech, Johnson & Johnson. "The surgeons, healthcare leaders and technologists we engage with on this issue all believe there is more to be done and are eager to step up, work together, and find solutions so that surgeons can sustain their work and more often find joy in the science of surgical care."

Despite a culture of silence, surgeons are asking for help
Many surgeons face a support gap, with more than half of respondents stating that they are unaware of available mental health resources, with the highest gaps reported in Brazil and Germany. Nearly seven in ten surgeons (68%) fear career repercussions if they seek mental health support, yet 74% say they would engage in care if a judgment-free space were available.

Surgeons point to structural change, not individual resilience, as the most effective path forward. Reducing administrative burden emerged as a top priority, with automation and streamlined processes cited as essential to improving mental well-being. When asked about solutions, 85% of surgeons said technologies that significantly eliminate administrative burden would positively impact the profession, while 87% suggested that technology to streamline administrative tasks would be useful for mental health support.

Connection also matters: Nearly seven in ten surgeons say discussing mental health with colleagues helps them feel less alone, yet just over three in ten feel they can openly discuss the emotional impact of their work on a regular basis. This gap underscores an opportunity to reduce stigma and foster environments where surgeons can seek support earlier.

Read the survey findings - and hear directly from surgeons - in the Behind the Mask report here: https://thenext.jnjmedtech.com/behind-the-mask

Surgical Solutions from Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Across Johnson & Johnson, we are tackling the world's most complex and pervasive health challenges. For over 100 years, we have helped advance surgical care through our innovative portfolio across wound closure, adjunctive hemostats, surgical stapling and instruments, robotics and digital solutions. Together, with clinicians and healthcare experts around the world we are progressing what's next in surgery to better solve patient needs in metabolic and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and aesthetics and reconstruction. For more, visit https://www.jnj.com/medtech.

About Johnson & Johnson
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build a world where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured, where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal. Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity. Learn more about our MedTech sector's global scale and deep expertise in cardiovascular, orthopaedics, surgery and vision solutions at https://thenext.jnjmedtech.com. Follow us at @JNJMedTech and on LinkedIn.

Footnotes:
¹ Association of American Medical Colleges. The complexities of physician supply and demand: Projections from 2021 to 2036. Published 2024. https://www.aamc.org/media/75231/download?attachment.

² Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2023. Career Plans of US Physicians After the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(23)00335-X/fulltext

Media Contact:
Lindsey Diaz-MacInnis
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