Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2016 - (Page 86)
P H Y S I C I A N
L E A D E R S H I P
Reducing Physician Burnout
Through Engagement
John W. Henson, MD, FACHE, chief of oncology services, Piedmont Healthcare,
Atlanta, Georgia
P
hysician burnout has become a high-profile issue in healthcare. Increasingly
recognized as a common phenomenon, it has the potential to affect a central
point of care delivery by threatening physician engagement and even availability.
Senior healthcare leaders must understand the terminology of burnout, become
familiar with the sources of data used in its discussion, and take practical steps to
minimize this phenomenon in a complex world.
CHARACTERIZING PHYSICIAN BURNOUT
Definition
The Maslach Burnout Inventory manual states that burnout is "a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can
occur among individuals who work with people in some capacity" (Maslach, Jackson,
& Leiter, 1996). Emotional exhaustion refers to one's psyche being drained, depersonalization is reflected in impersonal responses, and reduced personal accomplishment
describes a negative feeling about oneself and the value and competence of one's
work. Burnout can also be viewed as the opposite of engagement (Studer, 2015).
Incidence
The percentage of physicians who described themselves as burned out in the Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report increased from 40% in 2013 to 46% in 2015 (Peckham, 2015). Women reported a higher level of burnout than men. Practice
categories in which burnout rates were 50% or greater were critical care, emergency
medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, and HIV/infectious
disease care.
Interestingly, a different group of specialists described their burnout as "severe."
Leading this list were nephrology, cardiology, plastic surgery, urology, and dermatology. Developing a theory to explain these differences is difficult. However, it seems
that physicians on the front lines of care are most likely to experience burnout,
whereas the degree of burnout for physicians in highly paid specialties is more likely
to be severe when it occurs.
The Physician Misery Index offers data on burnout from another perspective. The
index was developed by Geneia, a company that provides consulting services to institutions dealing with underengaged physicians, and is based on a survey that included
about 400 responses. The single-time-point study was interpreted as showing that
86
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2016
Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2016
Contents
Interview With Peter S. Fine, FACHE, President and CEO of Banner Health
Reducing Physician Burnout Through Engagement
Improving Care Across the Continuum
Analysis of the Community Benefit Standard in Texas Hospitals
Physician–Organization Collaboration Reduces Physician Burnout and Promotes Engagement: The Mayo Clinic Experience
Work–Family Conflict Among Newly Licensed Registered Nurses: A Structural Equation Model of Antecedents and Outcomes
Hospital Systems, Convenient Care Strategies, and Healthcare Reform
Journal of Healthcare Management - March/April 2016
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