Very accurate and timely discussion. It is so important to realize that if we take care of ourselves, we will be much better able to care for our patients. Taking time off to rejuvenate and enjoy other aspects of life should be an expectation not only of providers themselves, but needs to be accepted and encouraged by administrators, office managers, support staff and most importantly one’s significant other, family and social network.
By Gary Bawtinhimer, MD on Mar 02, 2017 at 4:04pm
Dear Dr. Greene
It was refreshing to hear of another physician who believes in the Maxim “physician heal thy self”
By Marc Notrica MD on Mar 02, 2017 at 4:35pm
Best Regards
Marc
Healthy living is a great idea, as is seeking help when it is needed. But I submit that one of the major contributors to physician burnout is the unending proliferation of nitpicking requirements by state medical boards. The locum tenens coverage I provide as a semi-retirement job requires me to be licensed in multiple states, and hardly a week goes by without some new CME requirement (bloodborne pathogens, opioid prescribing, pain management, elder abuse, partner abuse, child abuse, end-of-life management, the list goes on and on), or prescription drug monitoring program registry. Almost none of it has any bearing on anything I do as a physician, but all of it eats time and money. Burnout has many more causes, of course, but if regulatory agencies would only do a cost-benefit analysis, not just monetary cost but psychological and morale cost on physicians, before spewing ever more regulations, there would be a lot less burnout.
By Stephen D Leonard MD on Mar 02, 2017 at 10:33pm
This is a huge issue. Thank you for looking to tackle it NCMB! I think a lot of it has to do with patient expectation—- that anything can be cured, which simply isn’t true.
We cannot cure or heal anyone. I often have to remind myself this.JP
By Jonathan R. Prentice PA-C on Mar 03, 2017 at 12:16pm
Dr. Leonard, There’s no question that medicine is one of the most regulated professions in existence, and as you note, it is well documented that dealing with bureaucracy and mandates is a significant contributor to burnout. NCMB can’t speak for other regulators, but this Board tries to be very thoughtful in how it approaches any new mandate. The new CME requirement for controlled substances prescribers was deliberately implemented as part of - not in addition to - the existing CME requirement for physicians and PAs, and NCMB did not require licensees to complete specific courses, which should allow many to claim credit for CME they have already completed as part of their professional development. It’s doubtful that medicine will become less regulated. NCMB is serious about commonsense regulation, however, and will do what it can not to add to the problem of burnout.
- Forum editor
By Jean Fisher Brinkley on Mar 03, 2017 at 3:33pm
If a man is doing the same thing at sixty as he was at thirty, he was not doing much at thirty - and we all do a lot in our thirties. We cannot continue to heal the wounded without tending to the wounds of the healers!
There is no future in an early exit (pun intended), and career phase transitions are a form of preventive career maintenance - so phase shift before you burnout. Think of each shift as an advance. I’m on my third career phase with three decades of medicine behind me, and look forward to advancing to my next “retirement” - it gets better each time!
By O'Neill D'Cruz, MD, MBA on Mar 05, 2017 at 6:36pm
