Becoming a physician is a not just a career choice, it is “a calling” and a lifelong commitment. Making life and death decisions, keeping patients and families satisfied and maintaining the highest professional standards can absolutely take its toll. Simply earning ones medical degree speaks of years of self-sacrifice and delayed gratification—life, put on-hold for academic and professional achievement. No one with insight into the discipline required of these professionals would begrudge them any of the status and respect they’ve earned. Unfortunately, for many physicians, the professional rewards of status, security, and meaningful work are threatened by an avalanche of responsibility and stress characterizing today’s practice environment and further contributing to an escalating epidemic of physician stress and burnout. Burnout Rates Currently, rates of burnout among physicians are alarmingly high and are markedly higher than in the general population. A report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine,which surveyed more than 7,000 physicians found that nearly half reported at least one symptom of burnout. Across physician specialties, burnout is most prevalent in physicians on “the front-line of care,” with those in the fields of emergency medicine, family medicine and general internal medicine being at greatest risk. Burnout is a clinical syndrome characterized by loss of enthusiasm for work (emotional exhaustion), feelings of cynicism (depersonalization), as well as a low sense of personal accomplishment. Additional symptoms include physical exhaustion, poor judgment, guilt, feelings of ineffectiveness, and a sense of detachment in relationships with coworkers and patients. The Impacts of Severe Stress If left unaddressed, burnout can result in dire consequences for the physician both personally and professionally. For the individual, burnout is not only a leading cause of job dissatisfaction but can contribute to failed relationships, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. While the effects on the individual alone are concerning, the organizational and patient safety impact of burnout can be equally severe. Research solidly correlates physician burnout with disruptive behavior, increased medical errors, lower patient satisfaction scores, and increased malpractice risk. Additionally, burnout adversely impacts quality of care and patient outcomes. Lastly, research suggests when physicians are down and running low on empathy, their patients take longer to recover from illnesses and are less likely to adhere to treatment recommendations. The Sources of Burnout Critics of the culture of medicine regard burnout as the inevitable byproduct of an educational system and profession that has long rewarded self-denial, perseverance and expert performance in the face of enormous pressure. Medicine is charged with perpetuating an unhealthy “myth of invulnerability” and a doctrine of survival of the fittestamong its recruits. Anthony Montgomery, Organizational Psychologist and expert in physician burnout, further argues the educational system is largely responsible for perpetuating burnout by neglecting to cultivate an essential set of skills in its learners. Montgomery explains that medical education is almost exclusively aimed at perfecting students clinical and technical abilities -- with little to no attention given to the development of the social, leadership and teamwork skills desperately needed to successfully interact with patients and colleagues. Source
