There’s a lot of talk these days about patient satisfaction. Physicians are being measured in so many different ways. What concerns me is there’s not much talk about physician happiness. With levels of physician burnout and discontent growing, why not pull back the curtain on how to improve physician happiness?
Let’s think back to what life was like in grade school. For those of you who have children, what is the …
In the world of medicine, we often feel like we’re swimming upstream without a paddle. Like we’re the only ones having problems out there. With no one to lend a hand. No wonder health care providers suffer from major burnout.
You would think when one is away on a great vacation, it’d be easy to rein in that feeling, to appreciate what truly matters.
Not always. Until it is presented to you …
We are often our own worst critics.
Whenever doctors feel down, or burned out in our roles as health care providers and healers, we look inward. We wonder what is wrong with us. What could we do differently? We wonder why other doctors don’t have this problem.
The truth is, we do. We all do.
And yes, sometimes the problem is within us.
But other times, the problem is outside of us. Sometimes, it’s …
Is it just me, or is the world of medicine getting way more complicated?
Sometimes I long for the good old days of practicing medicine.
First, the hospital switched over to electronic medical records, which required us to to attend Saturday morning classes to learn how to tell the nurses our patients could go home after surgery.
Next, our office got an insurance memo …
It was a Friday morning, in the wee hours. I had come in to the hospital early to get caught up on the ever-present computer work. As I got a quick cup of tea, a young surgeon I’d seen around the operating room came in. He’d clearly been up most of the night.
We exchanged a few pleasantries. And then he cut to …
When you walk into the emergency room to see a trauma patient, do you remind yourself as you enter the doors, “Keep your game face on?”
When you finish a difficult surgery and make your way to the waiting area to review the prognosis with the family, do you tell yourself, “Take a deep breath. You can do this?”
When you steel yourself …
An excerpt from Remedy for Burnout: 7 Prescriptions Doctors Use to Find Meaning in Medicine.
A doctor’s self-worth can be tied up with a lot of issues.
How well can we make a diagnosis?
How elegantly can we perform the surgery?
How happy are our patients? Our staffs? Our families?
How many articles …
For those of you who have been riding along with me on my journey for the past few years , you know that it has been one heck of a ride. What started out as a little blog to encourage other doctors who were struggling with burnout has exploded. In a good way.
My blog came about because I was looking for a …
When you feel yourself sinking deeper into a bad case of physician burnout, finding a way out can feel daunting, if not impossible.
But it doesn’t have to.
I believe recovering from burnout begins when you start taking small, purposeful steps in a new direction. I recommend you start by getting a handle on your work-life balance.
Do you balance the time and energy you spend at work with the time and energy …
Most busy doctors completely forget (or ignore) the importance of integrating personal downtime and self-care into their schedules.
It’s no surprise so many doctors wrestle with overwhelm. Downtime is crucial for stress management.
What about you? Are you guilty of skipping your “you time?”
No, I don’t mean attending a seminar, reading an article, or talking about stress reduction at a staff meeting.
I mean, when is the last time you scheduled some real …
Recently, when my parents came for a visit, our conversations led me to realize something important: I have been a doctor for more than 20 years, and yet my parents have no idea what my daily life is like. It then occurred to me that if they have no idea, then surely my patients have no idea either.
So, if you’re a …
Whenever I talk with groups of medical professionals about job frustration and burnout, there’s a theme that shows up that’s hard to ignore. I call it “the pain of perfection.”
Most of us pursued careers in medicine to help others. And if we’re honest, we must admit that we have type A tendencies infused in our bloodstream.
Can I see a show of hands, please?
That part of us, the one that strives …
From the moment some patients arrive in your office, nothing seems to suit them:
So why are some patients so grumpy?
I believe many patients come to us with a wall of fear around themselves. They are worried about the outcome of their …
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Recently, there was an issue in my O.R. No, the surgery went well. The patient was healthy and tolerated the procedure just fine. And, yes, we had the proper equipment and it all functioned perfectly.
This was another kind of issue, something that I had not encountered before. It turned out to be a life lesson. My team and I were getting started in the O.R., for a fairly routine day. …
As I work with more and more doctors around the country, I am encouraged by what I am witnessing:
It seems that in the past few weeks, physicians across America have reached the breaking point.
Internist Daniela Drake wrote in the Daily Beast about how miserable it is to be a physician. She talked about the lack of respect, the lack of time to see patients due to increasing paperwork and the ever-present board certification processes.
Orthopedic surgeon Daniel Craviotto Jr. wrote “A Doctor’s Declaration of Independence” in the …
One of my goals is to help doctors be happier in their day jobs. This does not mean you put on a fake smile, and grin and bear it through your day. What it does mean is you consciously set your boundaries for what you need. Stick with them and let others know. Because the truth is, you teach people how to treat you.
This is not only reserved for your …
Remembering why we got into medicine in the first place can often soften the edges of long, difficult days.
My story unfolded on a circuitous route to medical school. I started with a master’s degree in sociology, and my first job after I graduated was working for the Virginia Center on Aging. I administered hour-long assessment surveys to the elderly population of the state. I would drive my old Volkswagen to …
A few short years ago, my wonderful father-in-law Bill was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer.
My husband and I traveled to the Midwest to visit Bill and my mother-in-law Betty. We were happy to be able to spend a little time with him, and he knew we were there.
Sadly, he passed away the night before we left.
We believe he held on until my husband arrived; all his other children lived nearby.
Later, …
Before any patient can go to the operating room, they need medical clearance from their primary physician. I look at this as a good thing.
Occasionally, a routine chest x-ray reveals lung cancer. Or, blood work shows abnormal values that point toward leukemia.
The bottom line for me is that I never argue when a primary care physician or specialist, such as a cardiologist, says the patient is too sick to have …
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