The stressful climate experienced by doctors and healthcare professionals in their practice is no longer news. Awareness is growing around the overly long hours, near-impossible work demands and challenging environment that are pushing doctors to the point of burnout. "A lot of people talk about burnout,” said Melissa Wolf, an obstetrician and gynaecologist from Montana. “They say it's the EMRs... the regulations, the restrictions, the insurance companies,” she added. “I had the realisation that it's not all of these outside restrictions causing the problem; it's that I'm not taking the time to care for my own well-being.” A sabbatical is more than just time off of work “Feeling burned out” is one of the most common reasons that doctors choose to take a sabbatical, said the treasurer of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Helen Stokes-Lampard. “We are all working at a frantic pace and it’s incredibly hard to have space and time to reflect so we can be at our most productive,” she explained. Taking time off from work may appear as a simple solution to tackle burnout, but to many doctors, the idea may seem like an impossible luxury which they find to difficult to consider. However, Stokes-Lampard posits that a sabbatical “can be a constructive coping strategy for retaining dignity during difficult times rather than ‘ploughing on’,” adding that the time off work is advantageous to those who are in need of a “breathing space”. In fact, healthcare professionals who have gone for sabbaticals report of beneficial outcomes – they return to their practice revitalised, happy and inspired, and inadvertently contribute to better quality of care. “People come back with their eyes a bit brighter and more bounce in their stride and they are more amenable and positive about their work,” said Michael Dixon, chair of the NHS Alliance. Traditionally, a sabbatical was regarded an opportunity for doctors to refresh their practice by learning and progressing in their area of specialty. Some apply for an extended study leave, with intention to pursue a postgraduate degree, while others exchange practices or undergo attachments at other hospitals. But sabbaticals can entail much more. Doctors can opt to write books and participate in humanitarian work abroad. Those who prefer for more adventure apply for postings as flying doctors, while others open up to the idea of taking courses in other complimentary areas such as acupuncture. “I did a meditation retreat for a week,” recounted physician Janice Boughton, who went on a two-year sabbatical after 17 years of practice. “I learned to do bedside ultrasound and had enough money, through my lucrative locum jobs, to pay for a small ultrasound machine and a full month ultrasound fellowship in California.” Is taking time off work a viable option? Despite the potential benefits of taking time from work, doctors still hesitate to consider the option. Work pressures affect not just doctors as individuals but their team as a whole, and sabbaticals are deemed “low on the list of priorities and seen as a disruption to the smooth running of a practice,” according to Stokes-Lampard. Some institutions may also be reluctant to offer doctors any time off, as work demands stretch all employees to the limit. “Increasingly, managers’ attitudes towards sabbaticals are that they are a gift rather than an entitlement, which means that when clinicians try to negotiate them they are starting from a position of submission,” says Mark Salter, a consultant adult general psychiatrist in east London. Doctors are also concerned over re-entering the work force after substantial time off work, with patient safety advocates adamant that doctors who return to work after a hiatus undergo retraining before resuming their practice. However, Salter is quick to reassure that many colleagues will be supportive of a doctor’s plans to take a sabbatical. “People may think this world is plagued by mistrust and envy, but most colleagues think ‘good on you’ and are often inspired to take a sabbatical too,” he says. The prospect of taking time off from work can be intimidating, but obstacles can be overcome with careful organisational planning amongst work colleagues, planning of activities and targeting achievable, fulfilling goals. With the budding benefits of sabbaticals, the general advice for doctors who are interested in applying for one is: “Do it. It’s a good idea.” Source
