Summary
Burnout continues to be a major issue among physicians, negatively impacting their lives on a personal and professional level. Forty-two percent of physicians reported burnout, according to the Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2020: The Generational Divide.
While physician burnout has gained more attention in recent years, it remains a serious problem in the medical community. The Medscape report found that the top reasons for burnout—long hours, overwhelming workload, and lack of support—have not changed over time.
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Original Article
Addressing Physician Burnout & Finding Work-Life Balance
Oncology Times
By Catlin Nalley
Burnout continues to be a major issue among physicians, negatively impacting their lives on a personal and professional level. Forty-two percent of physicians reported burnout, according to the Medscape National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report 2020: The Generational Divide.
While physician burnout has gained more attention in recent years, it remains a serious problem in the medical community. The Medscape report found that the top reasons for burnout—long hours, overwhelming workload, and lack of support—have not changed over time.
Despite growing recognition of this problem among physicians, it can be difficult to identify your own burnout, according to Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS, Executive Director of Breast Programs at MD Anderson Cancer Network, whose burnout was first brought to his attention by a colleague. “We all understand what burnout is,” he explained. “However, it is a slow, toxic thing and it can be difficult to know what you are dealing with when you are in it because this is your new normal.”
During the Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Kuerer delved into this issue at his session, “Work-Life Integration and Mitigating Burnout.”
Institutional Support
With a growing emphasis on self-care, healthcare organizations are offering more programs, such as meditation and yoga, to help their teams. While this is important, it is only one part of the solution. To address the root cause, changes at the institutional level are necessary as well.
Physicians are being expected to do more and yet do not have the bandwidth to meet the growing demands on their time. “We are being asked to do more jobs, even outside of our clinical care, but do not have protected time to do it,” Kuerer noted.
Addressing physician burnout is beneficial for everyone. “When physicians are unhappy, they leave,” Kuerer explained. “Whether they retire early or take another position, this puts a strain on resources and leads to a loss in revenue.”
Organizations have to spend time and money to find a new physician and during the interim the demands on the rest of the team increase, resulting in more burnout. This also negatively impacts the patients. “There's a huge link between patient satisfaction and the wellness of their clinical team,” Kuerer noted. “There is a greater risk of medical errors as well.”
How important is mitigating burnout and improving work-life balance for physicians? According to the Medscape report, 49 percent of the physicians surveyed would take a salary reduction to have more free time. This is something to consider, according to Kuerer. “This could be a future strategy to make physicians happier and more productive.”
Setting Boundaries
Another important component of mitigating burnout is learning to set boundaries. Driven by a desire to always do the best they can for their patients, this can be very difficult for physicians, according to Kuerer, who recalled a situation where he overextended himself in order to help a patient.
“I have a patient from another country, and it is very hard for her to be away from her family,” he said. “So, I added her surgery to an already busy day. Although I had good intentions and it was to help a patient in need, it is important to set boundaries.”
While there a plethora of demands coming from external sources, physicians must also look at the demands they place on themselves. “It’s a lesson I have learned as I get older,” Kuerer told Oncology Times. “I have to take a closer look at what I do, such as saying ‘yes’ to everything and overcommitting myself.”
Kuerer hopes that, after his session, attendees have a better understanding of physician burnout and what needs to be done at both the institutional and personal level. “Hospitals and our systems of care have a responsibility to address these issues,” he concluded. “At the same time, we as physicians must look inward and work on how we approach work-life balance.”
Catlin Nalley is a contributing writer.