A study published in the April 2009 Archives of Surgery revealed that 30 – 38% of surgeons across the country suffer from burnout. That is no surprise to me and I can see these numbers rise rather quickly in the months and years to come if circumstances don’t change and challenges in healthcare continue to get worse.
The study suggests that younger surgeons and female surgeons are at especially high risk for stress and burnout, and lists a number of factors that lead to its cause, including:
- Length of training and delayed “gratification”
- Long working hours and enormous workloads
- Imbalance between career and family
- Feeling isolated / not enough time to connect with colleagues
- Financial issues (salary, budgets, insurance issues)
- Grief and guilt about patient death or unsatisfactory outcome
- Insufficient protected research time and funding
- Sex- and age-related issues
- Inefficient and/or hostile work environment
- Setting unrealistic goals or having them imposed on oneself
As the leader and head coach of the Balanced Physician program, I work with my physician clients on the above-mentioned topics on a daily basis.
More and more physicians are looking for outside help since they are not able to cope on their own with all the challenges that they are facing in their practices and lives. Overwhelm, loss of control, damaged personal relationships and unfulfilled goals leave them empty, frustrated and burned out.
Coaching is the perfect vehicle for physicians, who want to regain passion for medicine, develop a sense of life balance and feel more fulfilled not only in their professional but also in their personal lives. Coaching
- Allows physicians the space to voice their frustrations, opinions, and dreams without being judged
- Is a solution-oriented method of guiding physicians in the times of challenges and change
- Focuses on setting and achieving goals as well as bringing out their strengths
- Increases awareness, opens up new perceptions and offers new options for more effective behavior
- Is flexible and customized. They don’t lie down “on the couch” and it doesn’t get added to their files.
- Leads to significant results within a short period of time.
As long as healthcare organizations don’t recognize the importance of investing in the physicians’ personal and interpersonal skills, the above-mentioned burnout factors will never go away. Now sure, physicians have to take responsibility for their lives and its results as well but I believe the healthcare organizations need to provide the education and access to physician coaching programs and personal development seminars. As the saying goes, “you can lead the horse to the water but you cannot make it drink.” Healthcare organizations cannot make physician drink but at least they can lead them to the water. By providing these kinds of programs, healthcare organizations not only invest in the productivity and well-being of their physicians but also in quality patient-care.
Iris Grimm
www.BalancedPhysician.com
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