Physicians must learn to say no

As a physician, is it acceptable to say no? After working as a hospital medicine physician across five different states and internationally, I’ve realized that saying no is actually imperative. Physicians are stretched thin, abused, demonized and expected to be superhuman when it comes to patient care. We secretly complain in online forums, we commiserate with other physicians in on-call rooms, sometimes we even seek mental health help, but rarely do we fight back and firmly say “no.” In my opinion, we have to change the culture of “yes-to-anything” immediately. Firstly, we must learn to say no to things that have a continuous negative impact on our own health. The triggers are, of course, different for each physician. But if we can’t take care of ourselves, then we won’t be able to tend to our patients. There are undoubtedly universal moments that push us all to the breaking point: sleep deprivation, catastrophic outcomes, being away from our own family and friends and the constant ego-driven fights that ensue within the health care colosseum. Thankfully, for the most part, these are usually followed by times of diastole or rest, where calm ensues. If it does not, then you have a situation that threatens your very survival — and you need to get out. In my own training. I had to leave a coveted specialty because I suffered during the entire year with severe depression, anxiety and then, ultimately, hypertensive urgency, whereby blood pressure skyrocketed to 20...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Source Type: blogs