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Practice Frictions Survey

AAHKS Arthroplasty Practice Friction & Sustainability Survey
What’s getting in your way?

AAHKS is evaluating operational and structural barriers that affect arthroplasty surgeon performance, efficiency, and long-term career sustainability.

This survey focuses on practical realities:
• What slows you down
• What frustrates you
• What feels like low-value work
• What would meaningfully improve your professional life

Estimated time: approximately 7 minutes.
Responses are confidential and will only be reported in the aggregate.
Practice Profile
1.Gender:
2.Years in practice:
3.What best describes your primary practice model?
4.Is your practice backed by private equity?
5.If you could change your practice model today, what would you choose?
6.Average hours worked per week (clinical + administrative):
Compensation Model
7.What is your primary compensation model?
8.If you could change your compensation model today, what would you choose?
9.On a scale of 1–5, how satisfied are you with your overall compensation?
10.Do you feel your compensation is fair relative to your workload?
Workload & Sustainability Snapshot
Burnout is defined as a state of emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment.
11.In the past year, how often have you felt burned out from your work?
12.On a scale from 0 to 10, how burned out do you feel currently?
(0 = Not at all burned out | 10 = Completely burned out)
0
10
13.How likely are you to leave orthopaedic surgery within the next 5 years?
Operational Friction
14.What percentage of your professional time feels like unnecessary or low-value work?
15.How often do you leave work frustrated by factors outside your clinical control?
16.Here are potential factors of what may slow you down or irritate you at work. Please rank each from 1 to 10 based on how much they impact you.
(1 = Least Impact | 10 = Most Impact)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
EMR / EMR inbox burden
Insurance / prior authorization
Clinic inefficiency
OR delays
Staffing turnover
Administrative oversight
CMS / reporting burden
Late add-on cases
Clinical productivity pressure (RVU/Collections)
Loss of autonomy
Complication management stress
Unrealistic patient expectations
Reimbursement decline
Professional isolation
Physical strain
Non-clinical tasks – Too many emails
Non-clinical tasks – Too many society commitments
Non-clinical tasks – Too many hospital commitments
Non-clinical tasks – Too many research commitments
Non-clinical tasks – Too many consulting commitments
Personal issues (outside of work)
Professional Control & Work Conditions
17.I have sufficient control over my workload.
18.My work pace is sustainable long term.
19.l feel pressured to work faster than I am comfortable with.
20.The amount of time I spend on documentation is reasonable.
21.I spend excessive time completing documentation at home.
Professional Meaning & Alignment
22.My professional values are well aligned with those of my organization
Retention Identity
23.If you were finishing college today, would you choose medicine again?
24.If you were finishing medical school today, would you choose orthopaedic surgery again?
25.If you would choose orthopaedic surgery again, would you still specialize in arthroplasty?
Direct Feedback
26.If you could permanently eliminate ONE persistent frustration from your professional life, what would it be?
Professional Stress
27.Would concern about your medical license make you hesitant to seek mental health care if needed?
Follow-Up Study
28.Would you be willing to complete a more detailed follow-up survey (~12 minutes) focused on practical solutions?