Physician turnover risk remains lower than other clinical roles, but retention hinges less on workload and more on control, according to a new report from SullivanCotter and Lotis Blue.
In a survey of more than 1,000 clinicians, physicians ranked clinical discretion, the ability to exercise independent medical judgment, as the single most important factor influencing their decision to stay.
“The 2026 Health Care Workforce Retention Study,” includes data from clinicians across 300 organizations. In the report, “clinicians” refers to licensed, patient-facing professionals, including physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and other clinical roles. The study blends independent polling with predictive analytics to identify what keeps clinicians committed to their organizations and what leads them to leave.
Here are eight things to know from the survey:
1. Most clinicians plan to stay, and the quit rate fell sharply. Among clinicians surveyed, 80% intend to stay, 11% are considering leaving, and 9% said they quit a healthcare job in the past year. That marks a steep decline from a 19% quit rate in the prior study. Nearly six in 10 departures were driven by job-related factors, a 10 percentage-point increase.
2. Physicians report the lowest turnover risk. Physicians had a 5% quit rate, and only 3% said they are considering leaving, both lower than other clinical roles.
3. Early-tenure quits dropped, but remain elevated. Quit rates among clinicians with less than one year of service fell from 45% to 25%. Even so, that’s still 15 percentage points higher than the overall average.
4. For physicians, retention is driven by the care environment and total rewards. Physician stay-or-leave decisions concentrate heavily in the care environment (28%) and total rewards, including compensation and benefits (30%). Together, those two categories account for more than half of overall influence. Compared with other roles, physicians place markedly less weight on schedule and job demands, suggesting workload alone does not explain exit risk once baseline thresholds are met.
5. Autonomy is the strongest signal for physician engagement. The data suggest physicians prioritize professional integrity and clinical agency, valuing friction reduction over broad perks or generalized culture messaging. The top driver is autonomy. Being trusted to use clinical discretion ranks No. 1, underscoring that professional respect and control over care delivery are foundational to physician engagement.
6. What drives physician retention (share of influence):
- Clinical discretion: 22%
- Job stability: 15%
- Pay equity: 15%
- Co-workers: 12%
- Access to equipment and supplies to provide high-quality care: 10%
- Paid time off: 8%
- Meaningful work: 5%
- Pay level satisfaction: 4%
7. APPs emphasize sustainability and growth. Advanced practice providers diverge from the overall sample by placing less relative weight on organizational factors. Their stay-or-quit decisions are driven primarily by the care environment (32%) and career considerations (24%).
8. For nurses, schedule reliability stands out. Nurses’ importance patterns closely track the overall clinician sample, reinforcing organizational factors and the care environment as foundational drivers. Schedule (16%) emerges as the most meaningful differentiator, underscoring the importance of predictability, staffing reliability and workable shifts.
