Observational studyJournal of general internal medicine2022
Factors Associated with Physician Tolerance of Uncertainty: an Observational Study.
Observational study in Journal of general internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Digital Mindfulness Training for Burnout Reduction in Physicians: Clinician-Driven Approach.JMIR formative research · 2025Trial
- Duagnosis: Locating Clinical Uncertainty in the Diagnostic Framework.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2026Article
- What Should We Aim for when Addressing Uncertainty from Serious Illness? A Stakeholder Focus Group Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- 'I was a bit hasty … I was a young resident!' Medical residents' responses to clinical uncertainty.Medical education · 2026Article
- Investigating gender disparities in urological care for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).BJUI compass · 2026Article
- First-year residents' experiences of uncertainty in rural and urban emergency departments.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Strategies for Teaching Uncertainty Tolerance in Medical Education: A Qualitative Study.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- How Tolerance of Uncertainty Relates to Well-Being in Japanese Primary Care Physicians: A Cross-Sectional Study.Yonago acta medica · 2026Article
- Patient Portal Access and Missed Medical Appointments: A Case-Control Study.Journal of patient experience · 2026Article
- The potential of uncertainty tolerance measures to identify specific needs of first-year medical residents: an exploratory study.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Bearing the Burdens of Medical Uncertainty.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2025Article
- Uncertainty experienced by newly qualified doctors during the transition to internship.Medical education · 2025Article
- Reflecting on Uncertainty Tolerance in Student Pharmacists Following an Inpatient Rounding Simulation: A Pilot Mixed-Methods Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Greater tolerance of uncertainty facilitates thriving in doctors entering postgraduate training.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Evolution of medical students' tolerance for uncertainty throughout their curriculum: a systematic mixed studies review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Review
- Genetic Polymorphisms in Cytochrome P450 Enzymes Involved in Vitamin D Metabolism and the Vitamin D Receptor: Their Clinical Relevance.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Review
- Family physicians have greater ambiguity tolerance in the clinical context: A nationwide cross-sectional study.Journal of general and family medicine · 2025Article
- Mapping Educational uncertainty stimuli to support health professions educators' in developing learner uncertainty tolerance.Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPhysicians need to learn and work amidst a plethora of uncertainties, which may drive burnout. Understanding differences in tolerance of uncertainty is an important research area.
objectiveTo examine factors associated with tolerance of uncertainty, including well-being metrics such as burnout.
designOnline confidential survey.
settingThe Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO).
participantsAll 2172 clinically active faculty in the MGPO. MAIN MEASURES: We examined associations for tolerance of uncertainty with demographic information, personal and professional characteristics, and physician well-being metrics. KEY
resultsTwo thousand twenty (93%) physicians responded. Multivariable analyses identified significant associations of lower tolerance of uncertainty with female gender (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.03-1.48); primary care practice (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.22-2.00); years since training (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-0.995); and lacking a trusted advisor (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.03-1.53). Adjusting for demographic and professional characteristics, physicians with low tolerance of uncertainty had higher likelihood of being burned-out (OR, 3.06; 95% CI, 2.41-3.88), were less likely to be satisfied with career (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.26-0.52), and less likely to be engaged at work (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.84-0.90).
conclusionAt a time when concern about physician well-being is high, with much speculation about causes of burnout, we found a strong relationship between tolerance of uncertainty and physician well-being, across specialties. Particular attention likely needs to be paid to those with less experience, those in specialties with high rates of undifferentiated illness and uncertainty, such as primary care, and ensuring all physicians have access to a trusted advisor. These results generate the potential hypothesis that efforts focused in understanding and embracing uncertainty could be potentially effective for reducing burnout. This concept should be tested in prospective trials.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.