A recent study by the Swedish Medical Association shows that the number of doctors who feel they have enough time for direct patient work – for example, examination and diagnosis – has dropped from 38 to 22 percent in three years. 6.5 percent of doctors have symptoms indicating fatigue.
A study from the Karolinska Institute also shows that nurses had a 61 percent increased risk of suicide compared to non-healthcare professionals. Doctors had a 57 percent higher risk.
Female doctors are among those who experience the situation the worst. They often specialize in areas with long-term mental strain, such as primary care where doctors follow patients for a long time.
“Dropped it”
Emelie is 25 years old when she starts working as a shift doctor at a health center in central Sweden. On her first day in the morning, she sees 15 patients. Each patient is examined for fifteen minutes.
And then my colleagues wondered why I didn't come for coffee.
Emelie's first morning with patients turns into several. Her role is different from that of her colleagues. She is given a lot of responsibility, because she shows that she can handle it, she believes. Sometimes she doesn't have time to eat lunch or go to the toilet, she says.
Over time, she becomes subdued. Irritation increases and she becomes more irritable.
Slowly but surely, you get a different face. You don't recognize yourself.
After her ST service, she is laid off. Then the cup runs out and she is put on sick leave.
I completely lost it, I couldn't keep my mask on in front of the patients.
You have your own responsibility, Emelie points out, to say so if you can't make it. But you also need to be aware of your own rights.
“Good at keeping the mask on”
Today, Emelie is in her 30s. She has been on sick leave for a month and a half and is feeling a little better. She wants to return to the medical profession, but not to a health center.
She believes that managers need to be better at picking up on signals that staff are feeling unwell. For her, the signs were there before the sick leave.
It probably would have happened sooner or later even if I had continued. But you never know, you're good at keeping up the mask, until the day you're not.
"Emelie" is actually called something else.
Doctors' administrative tasks have increased. Economic crises have caused organizations to shrink and the number of tasks per person to increase. New, digital solutions are being implemented in a way that makes them a hindrance rather than a help, according to Emma Brulin, associate professor of occupational medicine at Karolinska Institutet.
The workload may depend on how the individual health center's operations are financed. If you are paid per patient, there may be an incentive to squeeze in as many patients as possible – this is not infrequently the case in private practices. Managers have a great responsibility for the work environment – but also need to receive sufficient support, according to Emma Brulin.
Karolinska Institutet data from 2025 shows that 6.5 percent of doctors have symptoms of fatigue that would most likely be classified as fatigue syndrome in a clinical assessment. 10 percent are at risk.
Research shows that stigma associated with feeling unwell prevents doctors from seeking help in a timely manner.
According to the Swedish Medical Association, the number of doctors who feel that they have full time for direct patient work has dropped from 38 to 22 percent between 2022 and 2025.
Source: Emma Brulin (Karolinska Institutet), Swedish Medical Association.
