😣 Physician Burnout. The Epidemic No One is Talking About

There is an epidemic of physician burnout throughout the world, and it has a pervasive negative effect on all aspects of medical care, including career satisfaction.

According to the AMA, three in five physicians reported at least one manifestation of burnout during the height of the Omicron wave that struck the U.S. during the winter of 2021–2022, pushing physician burnout rates to an all-time high.

📗 Published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the study, “Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Integration in Physicians Over the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” also found that satisfaction with work-life integration dropped from 46.1% in 2020 to 30.2% in 2021.

Meanwhile, average depression scores rose from 49.5% in 2020 to 52.5% in 2021. This modest rise in depression suggests the burnout increase is primarily due to work-related distress.

🔎 Signs and symptoms of burnout

The Maslach Burnout Inventory takes into account three factors:

😧 Emotional exhaustion: a feeling of emotional and physical depletion. “I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going this way."

😒 Depersonalization: development of cynical attitude or sarcasm toward the patient. "compassion fatigue"

😔 Lack of efficacy and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment.“What's the use? My work doesn't serve a real purpose anyway.”

Burnout can lead to numerous undesirable consequences:

👤 Lower patient satisfaction and care quality

📝 Higher medical error rates and malpractice risk

👥 Higher physician and staff turnover

🍺 Physician alcohol and drug abuse

⚠️ Physician suicide

Preventing burnout

💆🏻‍♀️ Self-awareness- Self-care with a personalized strategy to look after yourself

🏈 Ways to promote self-care: hobbies, spending time with family and friends, focusing on a healthy lifestyle, exercise, meditation, and adequate sleep

📅 Learning to say no and creating boundaries with regard to your patient volume and scheduling

👪 Work - life balance and healthy boundaries between them

📌 Einstein's definition of insanity:“Doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result.” The only way to achieve different results is to take action. You don't necessarily need to take more actions, just different ones.

What are some ways YOU manage stress and prevent burnout? Comment below ⬇️

#physicianburnout

Image by Nubelson Fernandes

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