About half of physicians feel positively about unionization, according to Medscape’s “Do Doctors See Organized Labor as an Answer? Medscape How Physicians View Unions Report 2025,” released Aug. 15.
The survey includes responses collected from 1,571 physicians between March 19 and June 3, 2025.
Here are five takeaways from the report:
1. When asked if they themselves were represented by a union at their workplace, only 5% of physicians said, “yes.” Of those who were represented by unions, 56% were a voting member of the union, compared to 44% who said they were not a voting member but had authorized the union to represent them.
2. About 3 in 10 physicians in the survey said that unionization was “very effective” or “effective,” compared with 23% who said it was “ineffective” or “very ineffective.” Another 46% were neutral when asked about the effectiveness of unions.
3. Most physicians who are not represented by unions would like the chance to vote in a certification election. A combined 43% said they were either “very supportive” or “supportive” of a certification election, compared with 24% who were “unsupportive” or “very unsupportive.”
4. Physicians were split on the subject of striking. When asked if they could imagine themselves voting for a strike, 43% said, “no,” while another 49% said, “possibly, depending on the issues,” and another 7% said, “yes, in solidarity regardless of the issues.”
5. Medscape asked physicians if patients’ welfare could sometimes be overlooked in a union’s representation of physicians’ interests. Here’s a breakdown of responses:
- Not at all concerned: 27%
- Slightly concerned 24%
- Moderately concerned: 21%
- Concerned: 18%
- Very concerned: 10%
