Burnout is a constant threat for physicians. Research consistently shows an average of 1 in 3 doctors suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day. In my work with over stressed and burned out doctors, I have found that most of us work way too hard being the superhero to our staff, patients and families — and don’t have any fun at all. It doesn’t have to be …
3 simple games to lower doctor stress and prevent burnout
One of the big practice challenges most physicians face is a frustrating gap in our leadership skills. We step out of residency and are instantly installed as the leader of a multidisciplinary team charged with delivering the highest quality care to our patients.
This new leadership role can be daunting. We are prepared to diagnose and treat, but what about all the other questions that come our way? At times It …
The frustrating gap of physician leadership skills
It always has broken my heart to see a person bankrupted by the costs of their healthcare. I remember my outrage when I first learned the only people who pay full price for their medical procedures are the ones paying cash. Insurance companies use their market muscle and patient volumes to negotiate discounts for their patients that have always been unavailable to the uninsured, individual healthcare consumer.
If you have been …
Hide your health insurance status and pay cash instead
For anyone in the helping professions, compassion fatigue is a common occurrence and a clear signal to take better care of your own needs.
Compassion fatigue is when you find yourself challenged to care about your patients in the way you know is proper and expected in your position. One of the key components of quality healthcare is the ability for you to connect with your patients and for them to …
Compassion fatigue is an early warning sign of physician burnout
The ambulance crew rolled him into my ER breathless in his pajamas, O2 mask on his face, gasping for air, his short cropped hair a mess, standing straight up. Eugene was what the staff called a “frequent flyer.” As the nurse injected some IV Lasix I reviewed his chart to find a classic downward spiral.
It was a busy evening. The bays were full of the usual cuts, broken bones and …
Death with dignity in the emergency department
Social media in healthcare is all the rage these days. You can’t visit even one physician-oriented website without someone breathlessly advising you to be on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and now Pinterest. Yet the only reason these talking heads can give you is, “because they are really popular and everyone is doing it.”
Social media consulting is a bubble economy at the moment.
Don’t listen to them.
1. There is no return on …
Why social media may not be worth it for doctors
Sometimes a patient interaction leaves you speechless. In my experience, that most often occurs when a patient refuses to acknowledge any responsibility for their condition despite massive evidence to the contrary. This is compounded when dealing with caregivers of patients who don’t just drop the ball, they kick it into the next county on purpose.
Here is an actual phone conversation between a fellow physician and a son of her two …
A deficit in caregiver personal responsibility
One of the most common stressors for physicians is the sheer toxicity of what are considered full time hours. While the rest of the world considers full time to be 40 hours a week, we all know a full time doc starts at 80 plus, if you include all the hours you must be available on call.
In physician surveys, schedule flexibility and the ability to function as a part time …
Part time medicine and birth of the new normal
The mother of the dead baby sat in her husband’s arms and simply asked “why?” over and over through the Vietnamese interpreter. I had no way to answer the question. I didn’t know why. There was nothing to point to. No defect in the child or mother or the actions taken in L&D.
All I could do was say “I am so sorry” … for your baby, for you … for …
The double tragedy of medicine’s battlefield mentality
Studies, medical societies and position papers are unanimous in their condemnation of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions for an uncomplicated URI … but not a single voice tells us how to do that.
Let me give you a three part structure you can use in your patient conversations in the future – and some exact words to try out. This structure is adapted from the Parenting literature, another role where boundaries and inappropriate …
How to say no to inappropriate antibiotic requests
Every day physicians and other healthcare professionals are engaged in an invisible battle at work.
In one corner is our desire to help other people, make a difference and practice the skills we worked so hard to perfect.
In the opposite corner is burnout and it’s entire gang. Most of us don’t recognize burnout has a whole team on its side. We are outnumbered at least ten to one. I call this …
Physician burnout: Why it’s not a fair fight
Numerous studies have shown that an average of 1 in 3 practicing physicians are suffering from symptomatic burnout on any given office day worldwide, regardless of specialty.
The three classic signs and symptoms of burnout are measured by a standardized evaluation: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).
They are:
1. Emotional exhaustion
The doctor is tapped out after the office day, hospital rounds or being on call and is unable to recover with time off. …
Physician burnout presents differently in male and female doctors
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