Seeking Burnout Support: If You Won’t Do It for You, Do It for Your Patients
It’s Sunday afternoon. Already, the dread is building.
As the start of another work week looms, your mind starts doom-scrolling through the long list of unpleasantries you’re anticipating. Your nervous system perks up. Sympathetic pathways activate.
By the time Monday morning rolls around, you find yourself hitting the snooze button. Once. Twice. Maybe three times. When you can no longer delay the start of your day, you roll out of bed. Groggy. Reluctant.
Of course, now you’re running behind, so everything feels like a mad dash. You get to work, and it’s go-time.
Colleagues or staff are waiting with questions that need answers. Now. Not later.
There’s no time to settle in or make a plan for your day. Just go.
Maybe there are already a couple of patients waiting for you. Now you’re playing a game of catch-up. You feel that familiar sensation of pressure.
You rush into the exam room, professional face on.
But are you ready to give this patient your best?
When you’re in medicine, you become accustomed to performing under pressure. Ignoring your emotions and physical needs becomes par for the course.
It’s all done in the name of serving.
But maybe that’s faulty logic.
How Burnout Affects Patient Care
I know you. You care about your patients.
Unfortunately, as burnout zaps your energy, you start feeling panicky, irritable, and impatient. As symptoms progress, you may even notice cynicism and apathy.
When you hit the most advanced stages, you can descend into mental or physical collapse, or both.
Needless to say, this isn’t ideal for you or your patients.
Burnout in Healthcare Professionals Erodes the Patient Experience
Most of us have had the unfortunate awareness of being with someone who isn’t genuinely interested in our well-being or what we have to say.
This isn’t the experience we want as patients. When bringing our most private details and fears to the table, we want to be seen and heard.
Unfortunately, professionalism and patient satisfaction suffer in the presence of burnout.
A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of 170 studies found that physician burnout doubled patient dissatisfaction scores while being associated with a similar degree of decrease in professionalism. The impacts on professionalism were greatest for those still in training.
Similarly, a second systematic review and meta-analysis that same year included 14 articles that revealed links between surgeon burnout and professionalism. The emotional exhaustion of burnout was negatively correlated with the ability to control one’s temper and extend empathy.
An increase in the frequency of malpractice suits was also attributed to surgeon burnout.
Burnout in Healthcare Impacts Patient Safety
The first study noted above found physician burnout doubled the number of reported patient safety events. Similarly, the second study reported a 2.5-fold increased risk of medical errors for surgeons experiencing burnout.
Both studies noted emotional exhaustion as factoring in medical errors.
It’s also been suggested that healthcare professionals involved in negative patient outcomes may experience increased burnout due to a “second victim” phenomenon, creating a negative feedback loop.
In this case, healthcare workers directly involved in adverse patient events experience traumatization stemming from their role in the medical error. Feelings of guilt or incompetence can be intense and isolating, further affecting the ability of the healthcare worker to function.
The data is clear. Burnout and patient safety go hand in hand.
Should You Seek Burnout Support?
Burnout is personal, but that doesn’t mean its effects aren’t widespread. In addition to the individual tolls of burnout, workplace culture and patient care suffer when healthcare providers struggle.
Addressing healthcare burnout is imperative.
Coaching can provide valuable support when you’re experiencing common symptoms of burnout, such as irritability, stress, and exhaustion.
A 2023 systematic review of 14 studies, including 5 randomized controlled trials, reported on burnout in physicians. Of the 13 studies including quantitative reporting, the physicians receiving coaching experienced a 58% reduction in emotional exhaustion, a factor implicated in medical errors. Additionally, 48% of physicians experienced a decrease in overall burnout.
Addressing burnout requires a multifactorial approach. Solutions need to account for the unique needs of individuals as well as issues at the organizational and cultural levels.
Coaching provides a valuable component of burnout support at the personal level.
Despite noting a decrease in numbers for 2024, the most recent Medscape Physician Burnout and Depression survey indicated almost half of physicians continue to report burnout. If you’re one of them, addressing this issue is necessary for the health and well-being of you and your patients.
The data is clear. The impact and quality of healthcare hinges on the happiness and satisfaction of physicians like you. Tolerating burnout isn’t a requirement. You can change your story.
Want to learn more about the symptoms of burnout? Check out How Introverts in Healthcare Experience The 12 Stages of Burnout.
Would you like to add calm to you day? I’d like to share my Mindful Minutes Toolkit. You can access it for free here.
Ready for 1:1 support from someone who understands your empathic nature? Learn more about working with me here.