Physician Stress and Burnout

Abstract

Tens (or hundreds) of thousands of Americans die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. Changes in the practice and business of medicine have caused some to question whether burnout among physicians and other healthcare providers may adversely affect patient outcomes. A clear consensus supports the contention that burnout affects patients, albeit with low-quality objective data. The psychological and physical impact on physicians and other providers is quite clear, however, and the impact on the physician workforce (where large shortages are projected) is yet another cause for concern. We have all heard the airplane safety announcement remind us to "Please put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting others." Unfortunately, like many airline passengers (very few of whom use oxygen masks correctly when they are needed), physicians often do not recognize symptoms of burnout or depression, and even less often do they seek help. We detail the causes and consequences of physician burnout and propose solutions to increase physician work satisfaction.

Doctors’ Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences

“…In addition, these findings warrant an urgent, targeted intervention among high-risk groups of frontliners, particularly medical doctors, to prevent fatigue-related consequences [ 20 ]. Although many people may interpret fatigue as signs of dedicated doctors, the stakeholders should view it as a sign of failure in resource management [ 53 , 54 ].…”

Burnout in emergency medicine physicians

“…[ 2 ] Physician burnout not only negatively impacts the health of physicians but also has been associated with a higher risk of adversely influencing patient outcomes (odds ratio 1.96, 95% CI 1.59–2.40). [ 3 , 4 ]…”

Wellness Review 2019, Part 2

“…For every hour spent with a patient, clinicians spend two hours on documentation, and as many as 4,000 clicks per clinical ER shift. Unanticipated by many physicians upon entering the work force, this is often cited as a key component leading to burnout [3,4]…”

“…Morally injured physicians, unable to practice medicine in alignment with their ethics, limited by either administrative or system constraints, feel frustration and demoralization ultimately leading to physician distress. Other studies have established that many doctors feel overwhelmed by their daily quantity of work-rather than being morally injured by it [4,17].…”

“…Burnout among US urology residents is as high as 64%, with the most frequently cited cause for burnout being excessive work hours [8]. In another review, time allocation was more important; time spent specifically on non-clinical tasks led to burnout [4].…”