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

Telemedicine: A cure for physician burnout?

Sylvia Romm, MD, MPH
Physician
April 29, 2017
655 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

At the end of my daughter’s first week of preschool, she came home with a burning question: “Mom, my friend at school says that she has two days in a row when she and her mommy and daddy are all home at the same time. They call it a weekend. Will we ever have a weekend?”

I was floored. That simple question encapsulated the only life she had known as a doctor’s daughter. In the four years since she was born, she had never had a consistent, secure time when I would be home. I had her while I was still in residency, and 80-hour workweeks were more common than 40-hour ones. When I graduated from residency, in an effort to spend more time with my family, I took a shift work position in a hospital. Working 12- and 24-hour shifts meant that I could be home on my off days, but it also meant that nights, weekends, and holidays were all fair game. In addition, driving to the hospital required significant commuting time; my drive home after a 24-hour shift could easily be over an hour, compounding my exhaustion.

These long and erratic hours took a toll on my emotional and physical health. I started displaying the typical signs of physician burnout: emotional exhaustion and the feeling of processing my patients, instead of caring for them. Where I had previously felt sympathy and compassion for parents who were so scared for their child that they brought them to the emergency room for a simple cold, I began to blame them for exposing their child to the chaotic and dirty hospital. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment for saving the life of a newborn, I felt like each resuscitation was just an error away from a devastating outcome. I needed to find balance and boundaries to my work, and the ability to recover in between seeing patients.

One day, an email came through my inbox, offering physicians like me the ability to work flexible hours from home by providing care online. I was immediately drawn to the idea of using technology to improve health care, and I became one of the growing number of physicians who turned to telemedicine to reverse the effects of burn out. After some research, I joined a reputable online physician group that provides urgent care through video visits. When I want to see patients, I log into a platform and parents can see that I am available to offer urgent care services to their children. I see as many patients as I want, and then log off the website when I am done. Now, I can see patients when it works with my schedule, from my own home. I’ve eliminated my horrible commute and opened up time to see my family. I no longer have the stress of wondering who will stay home with my child on a snow day or if she is sick. The ability to take control of my schedule while still practicing medicine has given me a new sense of purpose and a feeling that work/life balance is actually possible.

I’ve also found that seeing patients in their own homes is fun and rewarding in a way I didn’t initially expect. Parents are often extremely grateful that they can see a pediatrician without having to travel to an urgent care center or emergency room. Just as I had always had to juggle work and children, the parents of my patients are also under significant stress when they have to miss work to see a doctor. Doing telemedicine has made health care easier for both of us, making us all healthier.

More hospitals and clinics are embracing telemedicine as an additional way to see patients. Right now, urgent care is the most popular use for telemedicine, but every day I meet an increasing number of doctors who are utilizing the ability to see patients through a video visit into their schedules. These physicians tell me that they too feel empowered by the ability to see patients without having to drive long distances and that the appreciation they get from their patients makes them remember why they entered medicine in the first place. The potential for telemedicine to drive convenience and compassion for both physicians and patients is immense. As for now, I’m just happy that the word “weekend” is in my daughter’s vocabulary.

Sylvia Romm is a pediatrician, Online Care Group, and medical director, American Well.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Beware of worthless procedures and epidural steroids for your back pain

April 29, 2017 Kevin 12
…
Next

A patient thought she knew who the real doctor was. She was wrong.

April 30, 2017 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Beware of worthless procedures and epidural steroids for your back pain
Next Post >
A patient thought she knew who the real doctor was. She was wrong.

More by Sylvia Romm, MD, MPH

  • What physicians need to make a telehealth program stand out

    Sylvia Romm, MD, MPH
  • How many doctors does it take to read a hospital bill?

    Sylvia Romm, MD, MPH

Related Posts

  • Chasing numbers contributes to physician burnout

    DrizzleMD
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Why health care replaced physician care

    Michael Weiss, MD
  • More physician responsibility for patient care

    Michael R. McGuire
  • Physician burnout is as much a legal problem as it is a medical one

    Sharona Hoffman, JD
  • Health care needs more physician CEOs

    Alexi Nazem, MD

More in Physician

  • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

    Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD
  • Practicing medicine with conviction

    Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA
  • The power of memory in shaping human identity

    Emily F. Peters and Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD
  • Physicians have no autonomy. Here’s how to change that.

    Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH
  • The erosion of patient care

    Laura de la Torre, MD
  • Navigating adulthood in the digital age

    Eleanor Menzin, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • 1 in 5 doctors will become disabled. Are you prepared?

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • The art of pediatrics: Connecting through observation

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions
    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Epigenetics and our inheritance to future generations

      Vishruth Nagam | Conditions
    • Practicing medicine with conviction

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • The power of memory in shaping human identity

      Emily F. Peters and Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD | Physician

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 3 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

  • MedPod Today: Big Medical Bill; GLP-1 Agonist Plateau; Grateful Patient Fundraising
  • Spouting COVID Misinformation Tied to Use of Ivermectin, HCQ
  • Senator Dianne Feinstein Dies at 90
  • No Benefit to Tight Glucose Control in ICU
  • New Option OK'd for Pompe Disease

Meeting Coverage

  • New Schizophrenia Treatments Are Coming: Don't Panic
  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • 1 in 5 doctors will become disabled. Are you prepared?

      Amarish Dave, DO | Finance
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • The art of pediatrics: Connecting through observation

      Alexander Rakowsky, MD | Conditions
    • Assertiveness in health care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Epigenetics and our inheritance to future generations

      Vishruth Nagam | Conditions
    • Practicing medicine with conviction

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • The power of memory in shaping human identity

      Emily F. Peters and Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD | Physician

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

Telemedicine: A cure for physician burnout?
3 comments

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

Loading Comments...