Physician resilience: cause or symptom?

Do you ever wonder what compels someone to walk away from their current life to leave all they worked for — jobs, spouses, kids — behind? The community around them are caught off guard of how unhappy or unfulfilled or the silent suffering that made their life so hard. We say it is shocking and act so surprised. But that seems a pretense. It’s no secret that compassion fatigue and physician burnout are both on a steady rise. For us in the medical community, this can be an opportunity to reevaluate To allow us to open the windows of hearts and souls so our healers do not suffocate. Medicine is an art, not a fast food service. Stop telling us that’s how we should do it. They are more than a number, so please respect each patient. This is a contributing factor to the rates of rising disillusionment. Being a physician is an honor and a privilege but it takes its toll on a physician’s mind, body, soul. How long can we ignore the complex emotions that are not shared but stored— the difficult cases, the trauma, the days of sleep deprivation, the long hours, cumbersome electronic medical records, the disconnect between ideal and real-world medicine the pressure to be perfect the physician dehumanization? Over time that suppression translates to cynicism and fatigue. But because we’re doctors, there is no time be weak. When we were residents, we didn’t have a voice But as board-certified attendings, we have a choice Keep our heads down and let things happen Or s...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Practice Management Source Type: blogs