BRUSSELS, belgium – Sept. 20, 2025
Younger doctors are logging substantially fewer hours than their older counterparts, a trend that’s reshaping the medical profession. While physicians over 55 average 52 hours weekly, those under 40 cap their work at 44 hours, an eight-hour difference that signals a profound shift in how medicine is practiced.
Key takeaways:
- A generational gap exists in doctor work hours, with younger physicians working fewer weekly hours.
- Administrative burdens and patient influx contribute significantly to physician burnout.
- younger doctors increasingly prefer group practices to share workloads and administrative tasks.
- The traditional solo practice model is becoming less common among new medical professionals.
Why are doctors working fewer hours, and how is it changing patient care? The practice of medicine is undergoing a significant evolution, marked by a clear generational divide in work hours and professional priorities.
Ortwin Boone, a manager specializing in liberal professions, notes this evolution.”The oldest generation comes from an era when the family doctor was a central figure, available day and night. Working enormously was part of the profession’s identity, but today, that time is over,” he explained. This sentiment is echoed by younger practitioners who prioritize work-life balance.
“The solo is done less and less. Young doctors organize themselves to work for fewer hours, which changes the dynamics.”
Younger doctors are setting boundaries sooner,refusing to sacrifice family life and personal well-being for the demands of a relentless schedule. However, this shift isn’t without its consequences, impacting the availability of care and the structure of medical practices.
The profession itself plays a key role. dr. christophe Dauge, a general practitioner in Ath with over twenty years of experience, highlights the administrative burden. “The administrative load has become overwhelming. We spend hours completing files,encoding,responding to mutuals… Young doctors no longer want to bear this burden alone,” he says. This often leads them to choose group practices immediately, complete with secretarial support and colleagues to share tasks.
This administrative weight, frequently enough unseen by patients, is a significant contributor to physician burnout. Over one-third of doctors have considered leaving their practice due to this overload. A survey found that 61% of general practitioners under 40 believe it will become necessary to stop accepting new patients in the long term, a sentiment shared by half of dentists in the same age group.
“Young doctors no longer want to carry the administrative burden alone. They thus immediately choose group practices.”
“The solo practice is done less and less.Young doctors organize to work fewer hours, changing the dynamics,” Dr. cuvelier notes. “The problem is that some stop accepting new patients. We risk creating dead ends, with areas where access to care becomes more complicated.”
For Dr. Cuvelier and many specialists, the path forward lies in better collective association. This includes improved patient triage, prioritized consultations, and readily available appointment slots to manage emergencies, ensuring that access to care remains a priority.
Did you know?
More than half of all doctors (55%) report experiencing very high levels of work pressure.This figure rises dramatically to nearly 80% among younger general practitioners and dentists.
