"Policy makers and health care organizations must address the problem of physician burnout for the sake of physicians and their patients," the authors, led by Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, write. The survey findings were published online August 20 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Sunday, August 26, 2012
Physician Burnout: Be Kind to Your Health Care Provider
"Policy makers and health care organizations must address the problem of physician burnout for the sake of physicians and their patients," the authors, led by Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, write. The survey findings were published online August 20 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
3 comments:
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Thanks for your post Dr. Blake. This is such a huge problem that no one talks about. Here's my understanding of the reach and implications of burnout these days from my work with hundreds of over stressed doctors.
ReplyDeleteThese doctors are the canary in the coal mine of medicine and we simply cannot allow them to drop at this rate.
The literature on burnout over the last 20 years is completely consistent with this study. 1 in 3 doctors on average are suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day. These statistics are worldwide, regardless of the docotor's specialty OR the type of healthcare delivery system.
The biggest cause is the conditioning of our healthcare educational system which effectively installs a survival mechanism in all doctors that has four key components.
Workaholic
Superhero
Emotion Free
Lone Ranger
This is a key set of skills we all must use to survive training and NOT a great way to live a life.
It is this programming that is primarily responsible for the epidemic of burnout we see in medicine. The additional post-graduation stresses of "the business of medicine", our complete lack of functional leadership skills and the uncertainties of political "reform" and the changing practice landscape - 75% of doctors are projected to be employees by 2013 - not to mention raising a family with this #800 gorilla of a career. It is a recipe for this dysfunction.
Where do we go from here? It is a multifactorial answer. The doctors need the skills to lower stress and prevent burnout as individuals. That is why I created my website. We know what works to create a more resilient doctor and prevent burnout and it is rarely taught in the standard medical school and residency curriculum. And organizations bear a large responsibility because it is so darn easy to focus on the patient .... and not see that - in healthcare especially - the health and wellbeing of the provider has a direct impact on the quality and healing at the level of the patient.
We have a moral, ethical and business imperative to support the wellness of the providers and not treat doctors like piece workers on a production line.
These are immensely important topics that deserve more than a blog comment to do them justice. If you REALLY want to explore this issue in a way that has a chance to create meaningful change. Please contact me through my website.
The doctors are the canary in the coal mine of modern healthcare ... unfortunately that same canary is the one coordinating the care of everyone in your system... and we cannot afford to let them drop.
My two cents,
Dike
Dike Drummond MD
TheHappyMD (dot) com
Dike, thank you. I personally will give your website a look. I see great docs giving poor care which I know has to be from burnout. I see the docs in my clinic in survival mode daily, but losing the love of medicine. Rich
DeleteThe fact that almost 1 in 2 U.S. physicians has symptoms of burnout implies that the origins of this problem are rooted in the environment and care delivery system rather than in the personal characteristics of a few susceptible individuals.
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