Interim Physicians Blog

Physicians spend most of their waking hours caring for and treating others. Often, they’re so focused on their patients that their own issues get little to no attention. It’s no wonder, then, that physician burnout has increased at a staggering rate.

Medscape’s 2019 National Physician Burnout, Depression & Suicide Report revealed that 44% of physicians report feeling burned out, experiencing “long-term, unresolvable job stress that leads to exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed, cynical, and detached from the job, and lacking a sense of personal accomplishment.” In fact, physicians represent the highest suicide rate of any profession: one doctor commits suicide in the U.S. daily!

Despite reports of burned out doctors abandoning their careers, many other doctors simply want some time off -- perhaps a year or more -- to take a breather, spend time with family, or take a sabbatical abroad. The AMA warns that leaving clinical practice for an extended period of time should not be taken lightly: "Lack of retraining before reentry raises questions about patient safety and the clinical competence of reentered physicians." Doctors need to be aware that, "getting back in the game is expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes nearly impossible. So before you take a hiatus from medicine, ask yourself--can you afford it?" (medpage.com)

Recent efforts to make hospitals safer seem to be paying off.  The goal is an ambitious one, to say the least: to reduce hospital-acquired conditions by 1.8 million from 2014 to 2019, a 20% reduction that will save 19.1 billion dollars in hospital costs (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).  Optimism is growing that this goal may be attainable.

When was the last time you had a good laugh?

April is National Humor Month, and the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” couldn’t be more true than in healthcare. Laughter fuels resiliency, and with more than half of physicians reporting symptoms of burnout, laughter is always welcome at hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country.

The high incidence of depression among physicians can no longer be ignored.  Several recent reports show that every segment of the profession is at risk, from medical students and residents in training to mid-career physicians and those nearing retirement.

One study found that approximately 25% of medical students and residents suffer from clinically significant symptoms of depression (stat news.com).  Another shows that both men and women are highly susceptible to depression during their internship year, but that women are at significantly higher risk than men (healthday.com).  The three biggest challenges they face are (1) work-life balance, (2) dealing with time pressures, and (3) fear of failure or making a serious mistake (2016 Medscape survey).