Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Asking physicians this one simple question may hold the answer to burnout

Dianne Ansari-Winn, MD, MPH
Physician
November 20, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share

Many health care organizations across the country are taking leaps to address burnout. There are advisory boards formed solely to tackle the issue, access to yoga and meditation, as well as online programs and interactive workshops — just a few examples of efforts aimed at curbing this epidemic. These are steps in the right direction. However, physician burnout is a systemic problem, rooted deep in medicine’s culture, and these steps are not enough. For far too long, the treatment of physicians and their working conditions has become socially acknowledged and even dramatized on television. Surely, most employees would be up in arms should they have to work 28-hour shifts in almost any other profession. Health care organizations need to start thinking about how a change in the overall system can alleviate the problem.

Asking physicians how they’re doing sounds simple enough, right? The mere fact that we are having conversations about physician burnout on a national stage is progress. Instead of continuing to indulge a culture in medicine that rewards silence, real change will happen when we encourage physicians to talk about the truly unhealthy conditions they’re facing, that are affecting their well-being and the well-being of their patients.

The saying “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” has never been more relevant. A few months ago, we saw signs indicating that perhaps burnout was decreasing among physicians. Findings from a survey conducted by researchers from the American Medical Association, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University School of Medicine showed that for the first time in six years, the number of physicians suffering from burnout dropped. However, a report published just this summer shows burnout may be raging more than ever, particularly among primary care physicians, of which 79 percent say they have experienced symptoms of burnout, compared to 68 percent of all physician specialties surveyed.

These inconsistencies indicate that it’s not enough to look at the symptoms; we need to get to the root of this problem. What is the operational cause of the burnout? Is there a facet or policy that can be changed within all health care organizations that can result in a consistent positive change? Only more information and data from a much larger pool of physicians will give us what we need to find the source of the physician burnout crisis. Without it, medicine will continue to suffer.

Yoga, meditation, advisory boards — these are all signaling a growing awareness of how prevalent the problem of burnout is. But these are only the very tip of the iceberg; hospitals and health systems could have a significant impact by checking in with their physicians to ask how they’re doing — and ensuring that physicians are provided a safe and judgment-free space in which to answer honestly. We can end physician burnout. Now is the time to start measuring physician satisfaction in order to gather feedback and discover what really works to improve physician wellness.

Dianne Ansari-Winn is an anesthesiologist and founder, Physician Vitality Institute, and a member of the medical advisory board, Lightning Bolt Solutions.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

How this physician does less in primary care and accomplishes more

November 19, 2019 Kevin 0
…
Next

A call to increase the availability of the Butrans patch

November 20, 2019 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How this physician does less in primary care and accomplishes more
Next Post >
A call to increase the availability of the Butrans patch

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Dianne Ansari-Winn, MD, MPH

  • It’s time to advocate for a new culture in medicine

    Dianne Ansari-Winn, MD, MPH
  • Physician well-being must be the standard of medicine

    Dianne Ansari-Winn, MD, MPH
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    4 keys to manage medical malpractice stress syndrome

    Dianne Ansari-Winn, MD, MPH

Related Posts

  • A question to ask physicians: How much is tough enough?

    DrizzleMD
  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous
  • Beware of pseudoscience: The desperate need for physicians on social media

    Valerie A. Jones, MD
  • When physicians are cyberbullied: an interview with ZDoggMD

    Monique Tello, MD
  • Burnout might not be an option for tomorrow’s physicians

    Auston Stiefer

More in Physician

  • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

    Dr. Damane Zehra
  • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

    Howard Smith, MD
  • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

    Neil Baum, MD
  • Rediscovering the soul of medicine in the quiet of a Sunday morning

    Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD
  • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

    Jessie Mahoney, MD
  • How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Rediscovering the soul of medicine in the quiet of a Sunday morning

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • An introduction to occupational and environmental medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 12 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The dreaded question: Do you have boys or girls?

      Pamela Adelstein, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

      Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • Internal Medicine 2025: inspiration at the annual meeting

      American College of Physicians | Physician
    • What happened to real care in health care?

      Christopher H. Foster, PhD, MPA | Policy
    • Residency as rehearsal: the new pediatric hospitalist fellowship requirement scam

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Are quotas a solution to physician shortages?

      Jacob Murphy | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
  • Recent Posts

    • A female doctor’s day: exhaustion, sacrifice, and a single moment of joy

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Addressing America’s reliance on psychotropic medication [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden cost of malpractice: Why doctors are losing control

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Rediscovering the soul of medicine in the quiet of a Sunday morning

      Syed Ahmad Moosa, MD | Physician
    • An introduction to occupational and environmental medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Asking physicians this one simple question may hold the answer to burnout
12 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...