Now is the time for clinicians to reassess whether their financial protections still match the realities of work and home life.
Australia’s doctors and dentists often describe their profession as a calling, not just a career. It’s deeply fulfilling work. Few professions offer such purpose, pride and connection.
Yet beneath that fulfilment lies a quieter story of fatigue, financial strain and hidden vulnerability, especially through the middle years of practice.
It’s what many now call the “mid-career squeeze” – a period when professional, financial and personal pressures all peak at once. In their 30s and 40s, many clinicians find themselves managing teams, meeting compliance demands and running practices while raising families and paying off mortgages.
It’s a perfect storm of pressure that even strong purpose can’t fully buffer against – often sustained over a decade – and one that may help explain why depression often peaks globally in the early 30s.
PPS Mutual’s 2025 State of Health & Wellbeing in the Medical Profession research helps explain why.
While eight in 10 clinicians (81%) say they’re satisfied in their roles (well above the national average of 74%), those same mid-career practitioners also record the highest exhaustion and the lowest financial confidence. Fulfilment and fatigue, it seems, are now two sides of the same coin.
The fulfilment–fatigue paradox
Purpose is what drives clinicians to stay late, take difficult calls and push through when the waiting room is full – but it doesn’t make them immune to pressure.
Our research shows that, on a wellbeing scale from one to five – where three means “I’d like it to be better” and four means “I’m happy with it” – financial security averaged 3.66, sitting below both mental health (3.95) and physical health (3.77).
It’s not hard to understand why.
The road to becoming a specialist is long: an undergraduate degree (often with a hefty loan), seven years of advanced training and, for many, another three years completing a PhD.
So, by the time a specialist finally reaches their full earning potential, mortgages, school fees and rising costs are already in motion. Even high-income clinicians can feel they’re running uphill financially, long after peers in other professions have found stable ground.
The very qualities that make clinicians exceptional – conscientiousness, empathy, high standards – also make them prone to burnout when the system’s support structures are stretched thin. Paperwork mounts, staffing tightens, compliance grows more complex, and responsibility intensifies just as personal pressures peak.
This is the fulfilment–fatigue paradox: being deeply committed to purpose yet worn down by the weight of it. These professionals are not disengaged – quite the opposite. They’re highly capable and dedicated, carrying more than their fair share of the system’s weight.
It’s time we stopped seeing burnout as a personal failing and started treating it as a system issue – one that demands the same care and attention clinicians give to everyone else.
Lessons in resilience across generations
Medicine still attracts resilient people, but resilience looks different across generations.
Younger practitioners bring a clearer understanding of self-care, boundaries and financial literacy, and it’s paying off.
Related
Our research found that medical professionals under 30 reported stronger mental health and greater financial confidence than their older peers, signalling a cultural shift already reshaping the profession for the better.
At the other end of the career spectrum, older clinicians have had time to establish their practices, ease financial pressures and create a more sustainable balance between work and life.
Our findings reflect this, with professionals aged 60 and over reporting the highest overall wellbeing, lower debt, greater autonomy and stronger financial stability.
For those in the middle, caught between aspiration and obligation, there’s wisdom to be drawn from both ends. With the right support systems, whether through mentoring, professional networks or trusted financial advisers, mid-career clinicians can combine youthful energy with seasoned experience to build long-term sustainability and security.
But support structures only work when paired with personal habits: prioritising seven to nine hours of sleep, eating a Mediterranean-style diet, exercising regularly, nurturing close relationships, and seeking help from a counsellor or therapist when needed are all powerful ways to manage stress.
These are habits professionals must actively maintain, because too often, clinicians leave their own needs until last – usually when a crisis hits.
Why financial wellbeing matters for clinical sustainability
Money worries don’t just live in spreadsheets; they affect energy, decision-making and wellbeing. An unexpected illness, accident or extended absence from work can ripple –outward – through staff, patients, and families – with real emotional and operational consequences.
Yet many doctors and dentists still rely on life or income protection policies set up years ago, long before their responsibilities multiplied.
It’s easy to see how this happens. In the early career phase, financial planning often revolves around debt and getting established. Later, with security and assets built, there’s more room for strategic decisions.
But mid-career is the danger zone – when earning potential is high, dependents are many, and personal and professional obligations are at their peak.
This is precisely the stage when a “set and forget” approach – leaving early-career life insurance policies unchanged – stops working. Recalibrating protection to match income, liabilities, practice structure and family needs isn’t about accumulating wealth – it’s about preserving capacity, continuity and confidence.
Financial wellbeing isn’t separate from clinical sustainability – it’s part of it. The security that comes from knowing your family and practice are protected supports clearer thinking, better balance and more compassionate care. In that sense, financial advice functions like preventive medicine: it reduces risk before it becomes harm.
Turning the pinch into progress
The mid-career squeeze can certainly signal workforce sustainability risks – but it doesn’t have to be a negative story. With the right financial and wellbeing support, this pressure point can become a genuine turning point.
A useful way to think about it is as a safety net held together by a series of anchor points. When one anchor weakens, the whole net can sag, creating the conditions for crisis. The key anchors are physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing (including primary relationships), career wellbeing (having a sense of purpose) and financial wellbeing.
Keeping these anchors strong and in balance is what builds a resilient, durable life – one that can hold steady even under stress.
Regarding financial well-being, trusted financial advisers, particularly those who specialise in healthcare professionals, can make a huge difference. Frankly, almost all medical professionals just don’t have the time, the expertise, not even the interest to manage this anchor well.
When it comes to financial wellbeing in particular, trusted advisers can make an outsized difference, especially those who specialise in healthcare professionals. Most clinicians simply don’t have the time, expertise or even the interest to manage this anchor themselves. A good adviser helps translate “cover” into confidence – making sure protection policies and financial strategies align with real earnings, real risks and the true cost of living.
Now is the time for clinicians to reassess whether their financial protections still match the realities of work and home life. These aren’t conversations about wealth; they’re conversations about wellbeing. Just as preventive medicine safeguards long-term health, proactive financial planning provides stability and peace of mind – confidence that ultimately flows to colleagues, patients and the profession itself.
Dr John Cummins is the chief medical officer of PPS Mutual.
