original article:)
Emily Edwards
August 24, 2012
English Honors
Article of the week
The Physician Burnout Epidemic: What it Means for Patients and Reform
By Elaine Schattner
Main/ Supporting ideas:
Nearly half of physicians in the US suffer from burnout. Doctors aren’t satisfied with their jobs that require much work, and long hours of it. The number of students interested in joining the medical field is decreasing drastically… because the workplace isn’t ideal? Or could it be the monotony of the daily rounds?
Doctors may be in danger of burnout, but this also jeopardizes the health of their patients. As Dr. Mary Brandt has explored while studying health’s relation to a person’s wellbeing, you must take care of yourself in order to help take care of others.
- Burnout syndrome
- Most common among doctors (46% of participators in a survey of 7,288 physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout)
- Symptoms: tiredness, lack of enthusiasm, depersonalization, emotional fatigue, & failed sense of personal accomplishment
- Leads to depression and suicide
- Doctoring career
- Long hours, high workload
- The number of internal medicine doctors is declining (less people enter the practice & more go into early retirement)
Something needs to change. Dr. Tait Shanafelt states, “We are on the cusp of reform.”
My opinion:
Whenever thinking of what I wanted to be when I grew up it was always a job I could never find myself tiring of… becoming a doctor NEVER came to mind. I had friends with parents that were doctors hoping to keep their family’s reputation. They wanted the glory… and the paychecks. I think it is especially dangerous that Burnout affects not only the doctors, but also the patients they are aiding to. In human geography we call such a case an example of globalization- the ripple effect.
How can we find a solution? In my opinion, all it takes is an attitude adjustment and a more positive working environment. Doctors should be driven by the reward of saving lives if they have the knowledge to do so! If you someone isn’t compelled to be a doctor maybe the job isn’t right for you! We need people intrigued by the medical industry, people that are personally compelled to save lives & stick with their patients on the road to recovery with a determined, optimistic frame of mind that could give a patient the will to live.