This is an article from Podiatry Management Magazine online service. Thank you.
U.S. Physicians Suffer More Burnout Than Other Workers
Physicians in the United States suffer from more burnout than other workers in the United States, new research shows. A national survey of more than 7,000 U.S. physicians reveals that close to one half report having at least one symptom of burnout. "The 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.
"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.
"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.
Source: Pam Harrison, Medscape News [8/22/12]
Dr Blake's comment:
I have definitely felt the burnout of most physicians as you try day after day to squeeze in one more patient, and then another. The work demands are excessive and the paperwork overwhelming. Add if you are trying to do a decent job in helping people, more time restraints.
How do physicians fight burnout? Most limit their practices to the highest paying aspects: surgery, testing, work compensation cases, legal cases, various procedures. But, what then happens to the common sense care, the KISS care, the hand holding and sage advice time?
I hope this next generation of physicians, and all health care providers, will figure it out. I find I need to eat well, limit my week night outings, stay organized, not multi-task, exercise regularly, and re-invent who I am as a doctor every 3 years or so. And, not take myself or the bureaucratic chaos I am in daily too seriously.
This blog has been one way to re-invent myself. Before the blog, I was busy raising my family. Before that, there was all the excitement of starting a practice.
Even though there is a lot of work organizing a blog, it is not the amount of work that tends to cause burnout in any job, it is the feeling of hopelessness over getting the work done, or the feeling of lack of respect, or the feelings of failure when things do not go well (normal part of the art of medicine). This blog gives me none of that and so has become a very healthy part of my practice. It adds health to my practice, making me feel that I am making a difference.
