Central PA Medicine - February 2017 - 12

daup h i n cm s .org
.org

Community, Health & Wellness

Feel the

Burn?
Burnout is More Common
Than You Might Think

By HEATH B. MACKLEY, MD, FACRO

don't know any physician that doesn't struggle with the work-life
We all also have a life outside of work. We have family and friends.
balance. We didn't become physicians because we expected an We have hobbies, causes, religious activities, sports, artistic endeaveasy job. And most of us understand that to be truly good at ors, and countless other things that make life full and meaningful.
anything, it probably takes some talent, but it definitely requires But we also need time to care for ourselves, to eat well, to sleep
a lot of work. There is no substitute for investing your time, from enough, and to see physicians for our own personal medical issues.
studying in medical school, working and studying in residency and The tension between being a good physician and these important
fellowship, and working while continuing the learning process as aspects of life is relentless. And that is just one source of stress.
an attending physician. But it doesn't stop there. To deliver quality Physicians see death, suffering, lawsuits, unfair insurance policies,
healthcare to each individual takes time. Time to understand their and countless small offenses that can add up.
stories, time to develop evidence-based plans for rarely seen diseases,
time to talk to your colleagues to coordinate complex care. And it
It is no surprise that about 50% of physicians are suffering
takes time to document each encounter correctly. And it takes time burnout. Burnout is a syndrome involving emotional exhaustion,
to fulfill employer requirements if you're employed, or it takes time depersonalization, and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment1.
to administer the practice if you're independent. And it takes time to Burnout is not a sign of weakness, it is a consequence of chronic
supervise and train your team. And it takes time to educate learners stress. As physicians, it is often easy to focus on our work instead
if you work with them, and patients no matter where you work. of acknowledging the warning signs exhibited in ourselves or our
And it takes time for continued medical education (CME). And it colleagues. It is common for us to identify denial in our patients; it
takes time to work on your professional development. Medicine is is less common for us to identify it in ourselves. This impacts all of
undeniably a labor of love for most of us. But, it is labor.
us in the house of medicine. Studies have shown burnout scores are
associated with decreased work effort, an increase in major medical
12 February 2017 Central PA Medicine

http://www.dauphincms.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Central PA Medicine - February 2017