Burned out on Burnout?

Conclusion

Learning how to pay attention to our attention (meta-attention) can be transformative. Using principles from cognitive science, we can create a comprehensive approach (attention capital theory in medicine) to reclaim the meaning and joy that has been depleted from our profession. Increasing the difficulty of our work to match our skill level, delegating low-level tasks to help us focus on critical steps in our physician zone, creating rules to eliminate distractions, and noticing both the wonder and suffering around us may be more important than resilience training or wellness modules. Although well-intentioned, the majority of these solutions are band-aids and do not address the underlying root cause: our increasing inability to pay attention to what matters in life. Optimizing our ability to focus, perform meaningful deep work, and be fully present along the way are the keys to reclaim joy and meaning in our personal and professional lives. Instead of paving the way out for unhappy physicians, we can create a stable platform that attracts the best and brightest into the field, enables doctors to stand tall, thrive personally and professionally, and ultimately heal the world. It all starts with our attention. 

Sanj Katyal, MD FACR is the co-founder of the Positive Medicine Program for Physicians and runs a free peer support group for physicians by physicians.
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Source: The Health Care Blog - February 12, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Physicians Burnout physician burnout physician wellness Sanj Katyal Source Type: blogs