Burnout- it's not just for doctors anymore, or workers

[q-school]

WealthyDoc wrote:

We are having meetings about it at my institution.  Although we appreciate the acknowledgement, the meetings at 7 AM and 7 PM are only adding to the problem!

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when they couldn't find any more time at 7 am for meetings, they started 630 am meetings for me!

i thought they were kidding at first.

lol

 

[hightower]

Live Free MD wrote:

I agree with the value of learning ways to increase your resilience, such as being aware of your emotions, taking vacation time, exercising, and getting enough sleep.  Ultimately, however, I think the best cure for burnout is to get a bunch of money in the bank so that you are no longer constrained, and can do whatever it takes to transform that burnout into inspiration and vigor.

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Maybe, but that could take years for most physicians and the time spent trying to hoard lots of cash might be miserable if you're already burnt out.  So, one has to be careful not to keep themselves in an unhappy situation just for the pursuit of more money in hopes that the money will someday allow for "freedom" or increased happiness.  That day may never come as we all know...life can be short for some.  Gotta learn to enjoy life now of course.

But, if you can work at a level that is tolerable and still allows for happiness now while at the same time pursue your goal of eventual financial independence, then yes that would be a winning formula.

[Drsan1]

I think burnout can happen in any setting, but with work there's always a choice of staying in that situation or not. Even if it means finding another job, moving, downsizing etc. As a parent you don't have the option to not do it. You do however have options such as sitters, pre-shool, parenting classes etc. Raising kids is hard and when work is also hard the burnout/stress compounds. Job Optional, Kids not.

[RogueDadMD]

WealthyDoc wrote:

We are having meetings about it at my institution.  Although we appreciate the acknowledgement, the meetings at 7 AM and 7 PM are only adding to the problem!

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On my non-clinical days I often cram in a bunch of collaborative meetings and conferences -- because I do a lot of research and QI type stuff, I am constantly arranging small or large group meetings.

I refuse to schedule meetings before 9am or after 330pm except in very rare circumstances when I'm meeting with someone so much higher on the food-chain that I just have to take whatever time they happen to have available.

The only time recently this has happened was a couple months ago when I had to have a 7am meeting with a couple people near the top of the med school/healthcare system executive group.

I called into the meeting -- they said "Hey, we're upstairs, just come on up."  Unless they were hiding in my attic, they were most definitely not upstairs, because I called in from my bedroom.

I have a working spouse and 3 young kids, and I do not feel a need to make my day and their day significantly worse by forcing everyone up at the butt-crack of dawn and out the door at 615am so I can attend a meeting.

[q-school]

What's a non clinical day?

[RogueDadMD]

q-school wrote:

What’s a non clinical day?

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I'm a pediatric emergency medicine doc at a very academically oriented university/children's hospital.  Any time I'm not scheduled to work IN the ED is time to work on everything else -- grants, manuscripts, QI, guidelines, education/lectures, mentoring, etc.

I'm currently finishing a grant that dramatically reduced my required ER shift time the past 2 years to let me work on research.  The grant is about to end but because of work I do in clinical informatics and pending grant applications, my bosses have agreed to float me a very nice period of ongoing reduced clinical period to both work on informatics and try to get this grant funded.

So that means I'm expected to actually work when not in the ED, and many of the things I work on are collaborative efforts.  Since I have way less clinical time than my colleagues, I have way more "other" stuff I need to be doing.

[FIREshrink]

WealthyDoc wrote:

We are having meetings about it at my institution.  Although we appreciate the acknowledgement, the meetings at 7 AM and 7 PM are only adding to the problem!

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Unless you're a surgeon or anesthesiologist or hospitalist, a 7 am meeting signals to me, "this stuff is not important. We are not carving time out of your clinical duties for it. Instead, you carve time out of your personal life to come."

Us shrinks sometimes resent even 8 am meetings!