From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting to items from other places that we believe will interest our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Sept. 1. Neurosurgeon Anthony M. DiGiorgio, DO, MHA, FAANS, Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH and Brian J. Miller, MD, MBA, MPH discuss the impacts and causes of burnout, which affects up to two thirds of physicians. Read More
From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that we believe will be of interest to our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in The American Spectator on Jan. 3. In the op-ed, neurosurgeon Richard Menger, MD, MPA, FAANS and nurses Jessica Murfee, RN, BSN and Erin Roberts, RN, BSN, discuss health care provider burnout from the cumbersome prior authorization process required by insurance companies to perform surgery agreed upon by patient and surgeon. Read More
Burnout has come to be defined as a workplace syndrome from chronic exposure to job-related stress. It is the constellation of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. More than half of physicians report at least one of these symptoms. The consequences of burnout are not just detrimental to physicians themselves, but also the people around them. Loss in productivity, high-risk behavior, disregard for safety procedures, more referrals, additional diagnostic tests and poor care are among the manifestations of physician burnout. Additionally, substance abuse, family breakups, poor health, depression and even suicide may also be extreme consequences of burnout. Burnout does not have to manifest by these catastrophic events; it can show up in small ways. Some of the subtler indicators of burnout include anger, aggression, nastiness, snide comments and disrespect for other physicians and health care professionals. Read More
High rates of clinician burnout in the U.S. are detrimental to the quality of care being provided and harmful to individuals in the workforce. A report “Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being” by the National Academy of Medicine takes a systemic approach to address burnout that focuses on the structure, organization and culture of health care. Read More
Zubin Damania, MD (ZDoggMD) graciously sat down for an interview with the Neurosurgery Blog for the Physician Burnout focus series. He spoke with Kurt A, Yaeger, MD, neurosurgery resident at Mount Sinai Hospital in N.Y., and chatted about neurosurgery and moral injury/burnout. Read More
The prevalence of physician distress has been well documented in recent years, and data suggests that 44% of U.S. physicians experience symptoms of burnout.
A recent study titled, “Resilience and Burnout Among Physicians and the General US Working Population,” published in JAMA Network Open — a journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) — evaluated resilience among physicians and how it compared with resilience among other U.S. workers. The study also measured burnout symptoms to analyze the association between resilience and burnout among physicians. Read More
I chose to be a neurosurgeon because I sought a life bringing healing to those with neurological diseases. After completing my training with a tremendous sense of pride, I was prepared to have an impact on patients and families in their time of greatest need and hopelessness. I ended each day with the knowledge that I had given my all. Like many others, I ignored fatigue and underestimated the accumulated trauma of occasions where I gave all I had, but the patient’s disease won. My blessings were my family, my resolve and my mission. Read More
As the husband of a physician, I like to say that issues affecting health care workers aren’t just dinner tables issues — they’re breakfast, lunch and dinner table issues. This has never been truer than it is during the current coronavirus crisis. Read More
Joseph Maroon, MD, FAANS, tells an interesting story that sets the scene for his journey from burnout to wellness in his book, Square One: A Simple Guide to a Balanced Life. Read More
As conversations about work-life balance are becoming more prevalent, and given the stresses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a renewed interest in the issue of physician burnout. Burnout is a long-term stress reaction marked by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of sense of personal accomplishment. In recent years, the rising prevalence of burnout among clinicians — more than 50 percent according to a Medscape report — has led to probing questions on how it affects access to care, patient safety and care quality. Burned-out physicians are more likely to leave their practices or the practice of medicine altogether, which reduces patients’ access to and continuity of care. Burnout can also threaten patient safety and care quality when depersonalization leads to poor interactions with patients, and when burned-out physicians suffer from impaired attention, memory and executive function. Read More
