Physicians are more likely to describe making friends at this stage of their lives as difficult than easy, and a lack of time is by far the biggest reason those friendships fray, according to Medscape’s “Physician Friendships Report 2026,” published Aug. 25.
Medscape surveyed 1,002 physicians across 20 specialties from March 5 to May 22.
Here are six things to know:
1. Forming new friendships gets harder as physicians’ careers progress. Just 4% of physicians said it is “very easy” to form friendships at their current life stage and 12% said it is “easy.” Thirty percent were neutral, calling it “neither easy nor difficult,” while 37% said it is “difficult” and 17% said “very difficult.”
2. Not having enough time is the top threat to existing friendships. Asked about their biggest challenges to keeping friendships (respondents could select more than one), 75% of physicians pointed to a lack of time. Other common culprits include growing apart (34%), lack of communication (28%) and friendships requiring too much energy (24%). Political and social differences (12%) and fear of emotional connections (6%) were cited less often, and 8% said they face no challenges at all.
3. Most physicians keep a small circle of close friends, even if their overall network is bigger. Counting total friendships (not including relationships that are strictly through social media), 31% of physicians have 1-5 friends, 30% have 6-10, 14% have 11-15 and 23% have 16 or more. Close friendships are far more concentrated: 65% of physicians said they have just 1-5 close friends, and 8% said they have none.
4. College and the workplace are where most physician friendships take root. Thirty percent of physicians said their close friends came from college and 26% said work. Fewer trace close friendships back to high school (9%) or childhood before high school (8%); 22% cited another source and 6% said none of those categories applied.
5. Fourteen percent of physicians said they always prioritize work or family over friendships and 59% said they sometimes do, while just 5% said never. The reverse happens far less often: only 4% said they frequently put friendships ahead of work or family, 28% said occasionally, 48% said rarely and 20% said never.
6. When friendships do end over differing values, politics is the leading cause. Among physicians who have ended a friendship over differing viewpoints, 25% cited different social and political views, 16% cited different lifestyles and 6% cited different parenting approaches.
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