Ten Things Every Doctor

11

Needs To Know About Burnout

The Doctor Paradox

The Doctor Paradox is a site

dedicated to helping
physicians rediscover their
passion for their work. It is
about exploring why, despite
many of the conditions for
ful?illing work, physicians
are often dissatis?ied or
burned out.

Dr Paddy Barrett

Dr Barrett is a Cardiologist
who has worked in the Physician Burnout - Ten Things You Need To Know
United States, Europe and
Australia. Witnessing
common themes across the
world of physician work
environments, he is 1. You Are Not Alone
committed to improving the
working lives of physicians. Physicians experiencing burnout often feel that they are struggling with
burnout in isolation, and that the colleagues that surround them seem to be
doing much better than they are. Its not true. On average, 46% of physicians
screen positive for burnout, with that number rising to over 50% for those in
Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. Burnout is far more common than
you think and the very people you work with on a daily basis are likely to be
struggling with it, or have struggled with it at some point. Youre not alone.

Website:
TheDoctorParadox.com
Email:
info@
thedoctorparadox.com
thd
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2. Those Who Are Burned Out Are Often Last To Recognize It

Even though we may be aware of the features of burnout and the

prevalence of it in our community, those aected are often the last to
know. Think of the colleague at work who is burned out. Guess what.
They probably dont realize they are burned out but its very obvious to
everyone else. The bigger question is: Are you that person?
Recognizing burnout requires a degree of self-awareness, to look at
oneself from the outside. Physicians need to arm themselves with the
information and insight to see when we ourselves are burning out.

3. What Is Burnout?

Again and again we hear the term burnout. Much like being in love,
we know it when we see it, but we find it hard to describe it. There are
several ways to characterize burnout but the most common way is with
the Maslach Burnout Inventory. This short survey assesses how your
work aects 3 elements of your life, your degree of emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The
easiest way to think about it is, if your first thought when you walk
through the doors of your work in the morning is How quickly am I
going to get to walk back out those doors and go home then there is
a reasonable chance you are burned out.

4. There Is A Way To Tackle It

Those who suer from burnout often feel that there is no way to find a
solution. While an understandable position, it is untrue. The first step
to tackling it, is to identify it. With that complete, there are a multitude
of ways to create the circumstances where work becomes more of a
place of joy, rather than pain. The total elimination of stress from the
job as a physician is impossible, but shifting the balance from one of
stress, to that of fulfillment, is.

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5. Understand The Difference Between Your Job & The

Practice Of Medicine

As physicians, we all love the practice of medicine. The vehicle we most

often get to practice it in however is our job. Our jobs however, may
not be something we love. The issue arises when we begin to dislike
our jobs, and in eect believe we dislike the thing we love so much, the
practice of medicine. It is crucial to understand this distinction. Just
because you dislike your job, does not mean you have begun to dislike
the practice of medicine.

6. Physician Burnout Happens For Different Reasons At

Different Times

There is no singular cause of burnout. The issues that cause burnout

often change over the course of ones career. The early days of your
training may be most challenging because of feelings of guilt attached
to not knowing enough or feeling out of your depth. The later
portions of your career may present an entirely dierent spectrum of
challenges including navigating the increasing demands of electronic
health records or the obstacles that insurance companies often present.
It is essential to recognize that dierent parts of your career as a
physician will present dierent challenges you must learn to see these
and navigate your way around them appropriately.

7. Someone From Your Medical School Class Will Likely Commit

Suicide, Or Already Has And Burnout Is Likely To Have Played A Role

Although burnout and mental illness aecting physicians is a major concern,

the ultimate, irreversible adverse event is suicide. Unfortunately, we all too
often know of a friend, colleague or acquaintance that has tragically ended his
or her own life. An average in the US, 400 physicians commit suicide
annually and the risk of suicide for female physicians can be 4 times that of
their non-physician counterparts in the average population. Suicide as the
end result of the emotional stresses of work is a very real issue, yet it neednt
be. If you, or anyone you know have thoughts of self harm, please speak to a
trusted advisor or mental health professional.

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8. Do More Of What You Like And Less Of What You Dont

While during training, there is often very limited flexibility in reducing

the things you dont like about your training, in practice there is much
more control at your discretion. This is not to say that everyone in
practice is doing what they want, and not doing the things they dont
want to do, but that increased level of autonomy is there. Recognizing
that you will never be able to get rid of all the things you dont like
about your work, but you can increase the components you do like, can
go a long way to improving your out look on your future in healthcare.

9. Sleep Is A Precious Resource Use It Wisely

Sleep deprivation is a real issue for physicians and is a major driver of

burn out. Over night or unsociable work patterns, and after work
commitments all create the circumstances for poor sleep hygiene.
However, making sleep a priority will tremendously impact your
outlook on a day-to-day basis. Its certainly not easy achieve this, with all
the demands on your time, but getting to sleep an hour earlier instead
of watching an episode of your favorite show on Netflix can make a
huge dierence. Dont believe me. Try it for a week and I think you will
certainly notice the dierence.

10. If You Cant Eliminate A Challenge, Master It

Every physician has one or more things that cause the greatest amount
of stress and anxiety at work. For some its the electronic health record,
for others its a particular type of patient presentation. No matter what
it is, the first thing to do is identify it as an acute stressor in your work.
Can you get rid of it? Yes? Great. However, if you cannot (I dont see
the EHR going anywhere soon), learn to become a master of it. A
significant component of our stresses at work are borne of our feelings
of a lack of mastery of that topic. If there is something stressing you at
work you cant get rid of, master it and the stresses surrounding that
challenge almost vanish.

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