One year in to the new administration, physicians share what they’re mourning—and what still gives them hope
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Being a psychiatrist at the forefront of this has changed me irreparably. Watching the soul of a country actively decay while decrying and sounding the alarm to an empty void…does something to a person.
—Psychiatrist @myotheruserisagod via Reddit
Vulnerable populations [are] losing access to lifesaving care because of antiquated, unscientific thought rooted in prejudice. At the same time, I want to highlight the ways in which [we] have come together to speak out, advocate for solutions, and construct parallel systems to care for one another.
—Will Flanary, MD (aka, Dr. Glaucomflecken) via 'Grand Rounds' newsletter
Over the past year, physicians have navigated a healthcare landscape marked by both progress and challenges. The evolving environment has brought new opportunities but also significantly increased the cognitive load healthcare providers bear.
The transition to a new federal administration has ushered in substantial shifts in public health leadership and policy. Under President Donald Trump, health agencies have undergone notable alterations that have had real downstream effects on clinical practice and public health strategy. As physicians adapt to this often uncertain system, balancing advancement with expanding responsibilities, the strain has only intensified.
MDLinx gathered perspectives from physicians about the pressures and possibilities shaping physician practice today. Here’s what they had to say.
Cognitive load, ever-increasing
One of the most pressing concerns for physicians has been the increasing cognitive load required to stay current with rapidly changing guidelines, regulations, and public health initiatives. A survey by The Physicians Foundation (fielded June 25–30, 2025) found evidence of this: 57% of surveyed physicians reported experiencing “inappropriate feelings of anger, tearfulness or anxiety” in the past year, and 46% reported withdrawing from family, friends, and/or coworkers.[]
Andy Lazris, MD, a primary care physician, explains to MDLinx that this cognitive load has been escalating for awhile: "We in primary care have seen an escalation of our cognitive load for many years, predating the current administration and also predating COVID." Still, he notes that the present moment has brought long-neglected issues into sharper focus, including renewed scrutiny of the scientific foundations behind vaccination recommendations.“Doctors like myself, who believe in science and patient-centered care, welcome this,” he says.
Ophthalmologist Will Flanary, MD (aka "Dr. Glaucomflecken"), summed up how many physicians have been feeling over the past year in a January 2026 edition of his weekly newsletter, Grand Rounds: "Pseudoscience and fearmongering are becoming the law of the land, and doctors have been left scrambling to figure out how to protect their patients from the impacts."
"The long and short of it is: Vulnerable populations – particularly women, LGBTQIA+ people, and kids – are also losing access to lifesaving care because of antiquated, unscientific thought rooted in prejudice," Dr. Flanary continued. "But at the same time, I want to highlight the ways in which individuals have come together to speak out, advocate for solutions, and construct parallel systems to care for one another."
A great example of this? Last September, California, Oregon, and Washington came together to form the West Coast Health Alliance to develop their own vaccine guidelines, arguing that CDC recommendations had become overly politicized and should instead be grounded in independent, evidence-based science.
The alliance decided to issue state-specific recommendations, prioritize transparent communication to build public trust, and coordinate messaging across states. After hearing the news, a doctor on Reddit @bushgoliath said, "I can’t tell you the relief I felt. Truly pray that this ends up being a functional agency."
Related: Docs cheer after West Coast breaks from CDC with its own vaccine playbook: 'I can't tell you the relief I felt'Overall, doctors are still celebrating small wins In the clinic. One med-peds trainee described a recent interaction with a parent asking about forms to defer vaccines.
“She was open to discussion, and we spent a lot of time talking... She went from nervous and withdrawn to specifically thanking me for explaining it all to her. I agreed with her that it was a tough time to be a parent and in medicine and shared that I was thinking this morning of how to navigate it. She really encouraged me, and I thanked her for it,” user @purebitterness, a 4th-year medical student, wrote. “In the light of everything that has happened so recently, I really really needed this.”
Policy, payment, and the erosion of clinical morale
Physicians also face the realities of how public policies are crafted, especially in light of the fact that the US recently left the World Health Organization.[] “Being a psychiatrist at the forefront of this has changed me irreparably. Watching the soul of a country actively decay while decrying and sounding the alarm to an empty void…does something to a person,” said Reddit user and psychiatrist @myotheruserisagod, in response to the split.
At the same time, physicians are grappling with ongoing Medicare payment shifts that many describe as demoralizing: The 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule finalized a roughly 2.8%–2.9% reduction in the conversion factor.[] This effectively cuts average Medicare reimbursements at a time when practice costs continue to rise while fueling concern about the financial sustainability of caring for Medicare patients.
Doctors agree that navigating ever-changing health insurance policies is one of the hardest parts of the job. “It can be very demoralizing for anyone, having invested many years of our lives into studying medicine and just wanting to help people, only to find ourselves confronted with nebulous time-consuming roadblocks and barriers put in place by insurance companies,” psychiatrist Cooper Stone, DO, told MDLinx.
Looking ahead
Ultimately, as physicians continue to adapt to an ever-changing system, the balance between celebrating progress and addressing systemic shortcomings remains delicate.
The resilience of clinicians, navigating a complex landscape, does not outweigh the importance of fostering a healthcare system that supports both providers and patients. Physicians have shown they can adapt. “Whatever politics is happening, sick people are still here. They still need care," said internal medicine physician @o_e_p via Reddit. "Only you can only decide what your goals are… The real answer is, if things get worse, we do what we always do. Our job."
Related: 'If things get worse, we do what we always do'