Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

More humanity, less physician burnout

Starla Fitch, MD
Physician
March 18, 2015
74 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Physician burnout — and burnout in general — is at an all-time high. From this Wall Street Journal article by Dr. Sandeep Jauhar to a recent TEDx talk by Dr. Romila Mushtaq, the angst is palpable.

Sadly, as noted in this piece in the New York Times, the suicide rates of physicians and doctors-in-training increase every year.

The insurance companies’ complications, government involvement, and economic downturn have all added fuel to this fire of discontent. But I think the problem is even more pervasive than that.

It stems from our interactions. With each other and with our patients.

In the northern Natal tribes of South Africa, members greet one another with “Sawa bona,” which means “I see you.” The response is “Sikhona,” which means “I am here.”

How is that different from our usual, “How are you?” followed by, “I’m fine?”

The difference is in the validation, the acknowledgment of each individual as truly having meaning and importance.

When we walk into an exam room, we may actually ask a patient how they’re doing. But more likely, we’ll ask about the specific problem they’re having: “How’s your back pain?” or “Did the medicine make your itchy rash better?”

The leap from “I see you,” to “How’s your back pain?” is huge.

It implies that the patient — just like those in the memorable book we all read in training, The House of God — is indeed nothing more than his or her symptoms: the “inflamed gall bladder” in room 3 or the “chest pain” in room 5, not Mrs. Smythe, the grandmother of four whose husband died last May.

It’s not surprising that it’s come to this. We witness families at restaurants interacting more with their smartphones than with each other. We interrupt conversations, mealtimes, and playtimes to check our inboxes for more data to fill our days.

What’s the solution? Should we all start talking in the language of Natal? No. Well, not necessarily.

I do, however, believe that we need to take stock of ourselves and that on which we choose to focus.

We need to be more present every day for each other, for our colleagues, and for our patients.

We need to come together as healers and maintain the humanity in medicine.

Let’s focus on, as Jill Bolte Taylor suggests, “the energy we bring into the room” every day.

It’s not a quick fix. But it’s a start.

I see you.

Starla Fitch is an ophthalmologist, speaker, and personal coach.  She blogs at Love Medicine Again and is the author of Remedy for Burnout: 7 Prescriptions Doctors Use to Find Meaning in Medicine. She can also be reached on Twitter @StarlaFitchMD.

Prev

A message to those taking care of my medically-complex child

March 18, 2015 Kevin 4
…
Next

We need an honest discussion of appropriate antibiotic use in the ICU

March 18, 2015 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A message to those taking care of my medically-complex child
Next Post >
We need an honest discussion of appropriate antibiotic use in the ICU

More by Starla Fitch, MD

  • A cancer scare changed my life in 7 seconds

    Starla Fitch, MD
  • Doctors experience the world differently

    Starla Fitch, MD
  • No, doctors aren’t to blame for burnout

    Starla Fitch, MD

More in Physician

  • Physicians turn feelings of frustration and powerlessness into purpose and hope

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Tackling health care conflicts and stereotyping

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • A physician’s cry in light of world events

    Fareeha Khan, MD
  • 10 things to know about your doctor that will get you better care

    Dawn Sears, MD & Kim Downey, PT
  • Physician burnout reimagined

    Claudia Finkelstein, MD
  • Government surveillance: How electronic prescription records are changing medicine

    L. Joseph Parker, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • There’s no place for “benevolent deception” in obstetrics

      Megan Nix | Conditions
    • Physician burnout reimagined

      Claudia Finkelstein, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s cry in light of world events

      Fareeha Khan, MD | Physician
    • From fishing licenses to gun control

      Mitch Bruss, MD | Policy
    • The synergy of AI and human intelligence in transforming health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Navigating COVID: Why it still matters

      Anu Osinusi, MD, MPH & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast, Sponsored
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medicare coverage saves lives. Enrolling shouldn’t be this complicated.

      Catherine L. Chen, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Antisemitism is at a historic high not just in other countries, but right here in America

      Joshua D. Lenchus, DO | Physician
    • The erosion of compassion in medicine

      Daniel Luger, MD | Education
    • Emergency department burnout: a cry for change

      Anonymous | Conditions
    • Rising nurse practitioner burnout: charting and work-life balance

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Conditions
    • Pain medicine realities: beyond the opioid crisis

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD and Stephen E. Nadeau, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • The synergy of AI and human intelligence in transforming health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Intravenous immunoglobulin for gastroparesis: What happened to me

      Maria Jay | Conditions
    • Physicians turn feelings of frustration and powerlessness into purpose and hope

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • AI and the patient-physician relationship [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From fishing licenses to gun control

      Mitch Bruss, MD | Policy
    • 3 key things to do before year end to reduce taxes

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Travel Nurse Practitioner Who Disappeared on Hike Found Dead
  • 'Watch and Wait' With Small Renal Masses: When and How Should Docs Intervene?
  • Gaming the Patent System Can Keep Biosimilars Off the Market for Decades
  • First Gene Therapy for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Offers Durable Response
  • Non-Covalent BTK Inhibitor Approved for CLL

Meeting Coverage

  • 'Watch and Wait' With Small Renal Masses: When and How Should Docs Intervene?
  • First Gene Therapy for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Offers Durable Response
  • Oncolytic Virus Shows High Response Rates in BCG-Unresponsive Bladder Cancer
  • Breast Cancer Screening Frequency Makes a Big Survival Difference
  • Noninvasive Therapy Shows Efficacy in Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • There’s no place for “benevolent deception” in obstetrics

      Megan Nix | Conditions
    • Physician burnout reimagined

      Claudia Finkelstein, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s cry in light of world events

      Fareeha Khan, MD | Physician
    • From fishing licenses to gun control

      Mitch Bruss, MD | Policy
    • The synergy of AI and human intelligence in transforming health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Navigating COVID: Why it still matters

      Anu Osinusi, MD, MPH & The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast, Sponsored
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medicare coverage saves lives. Enrolling shouldn’t be this complicated.

      Catherine L. Chen, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Antisemitism is at a historic high not just in other countries, but right here in America

      Joshua D. Lenchus, DO | Physician
    • The erosion of compassion in medicine

      Daniel Luger, MD | Education
    • Emergency department burnout: a cry for change

      Anonymous | Conditions
    • Rising nurse practitioner burnout: charting and work-life balance

      Erica Dorn, FNP | Conditions
    • Pain medicine realities: beyond the opioid crisis

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD and Stephen E. Nadeau, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • The synergy of AI and human intelligence in transforming health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Intravenous immunoglobulin for gastroparesis: What happened to me

      Maria Jay | Conditions
    • Physicians turn feelings of frustration and powerlessness into purpose and hope

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • AI and the patient-physician relationship [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From fishing licenses to gun control

      Mitch Bruss, MD | Policy
    • 3 key things to do before year end to reduce taxes

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

More humanity, less physician burnout
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...