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

What if we treated physicians in training the way we want to be treated?

Stephanie Wellington, MD
Physician
February 22, 2018
6 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

What if each doctor in contact with medical students and residents acknowledge that they are a diverse group with their own inherent strengths and weaknesses?

Some residents will have mastered the knowledge within the pages of the textbook and can easily recite it during attending rounds.  Others will have a natural bedside manner making patients feel comfortable, so that the admission history and physical exams are more complete. Others will be leaders. Nurses, therapists, and social workers will naturally gravitate toward working with them.  From this new vantage point, each physician in training becomes an asset, contributing his or her gifts and talents to the team.

Instead of resident teams being a group of individual doctors vying in a competition to be recognized as the best, residents could be encouraged to support one another. Working together optimizes patient care and creates the opportunity for personal growth and development as a physician and as a person.  The concept of sharing information, learning from each other’s strengths, and supporting one another to identify and develop their weaknesses creates a culture of collegiality and cooperation.  This becomes the new focal point of each rotation.

Attention is placed on looking at the causes and solutions to physician burnout.  Articles and social media posts are published almost daily discussing some aspect of physician burnout, from its causes, to who is to blame, to what are the possible solutions.  Is it because of the depersonalization of medicine with the integration of electronic medical record?  Or is it because of increased patient volume with less available resources?  It’s probably a combination of all the factors that make medicine what it has become today.

While the pursuit of medicine is a noble one, it often removes the medical student and resident from the proximity of their support group of family and friends, without a viable option for replacement.  The very people who are learning how to care for patients are in a system where either you make it or break it.

Medical students and residents keep showing up for the rotations. They are doing their best to keep pace with patient volume and information without the resources or systems in place to support themselves when they become overwhelmed, frustrated, or burned out.  They may even lack the benefit of support from a co-resident or friend in the program.

The hours are long.  Living on the cusp of life and death is a huge responsibility. These are everyday challenges in medicine.  Successful teams respect one another, give constructive feedback without demoralizing one another, and grow collectively.  The time has come for medicine to adopt these tenets so that we can begin to make a dent in physician burnout and residents can be optimistic about the next shift.

Stephanie Wellington is a physician and can be reached at Nurturing MDs.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The CVS-Aetna merger is still the one to watch in 2018

February 22, 2018 Kevin 0
…
Next

You’ve prescribed an opioid: Now what? 5 key strategies to prevent addiction

February 22, 2018 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The CVS-Aetna merger is still the one to watch in 2018
Next Post >
You’ve prescribed an opioid: Now what? 5 key strategies to prevent addiction

More by Stephanie Wellington, MD

  • Unlocking the power of morning intentions: a physician’s self-care practice for finding ease and flow in life

    Stephanie Wellington, MD
  • Physician success is a team sport, so why are you on the field alone?

    Stephanie Wellington, MD
  • Unlock the power of comparison for more clarity in your career

    Stephanie Wellington, MD

Related Posts

  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous
  • Do physicians really need such extensive training?

    Erin Wildermuth
  • Beware of pseudoscience: The desperate need for physicians on social media

    Valerie A. Jones, MD
  • When physicians are cyberbullied: an interview with ZDoggMD

    Monique Tello, MD
  • Physicians: Take back the title you have earned through your training

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Physician

  • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

    Randall S. Fong, MD
  • The shifting landscape of gastroenterology manpower and compensation

    Brian Hudes, MD
  • Surgical procedures for inpatients: Addressing socioeconomic urgencies

    Deepak Gupta, MD
  • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

    Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD
  • A message of hope for physicians

    Kim Downey, PT
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • A message of hope for physicians

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

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

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | 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
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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 1 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

  • Did Gabapentin Improve Post-COVID Olfaction?
  • Fentanyl Death Trends; Food Additives and Heart Disease
  • What If the Doctor Is Out?
  • Reduced Mortality Seen in Cancer Survivors Who Meet Exercise Guidelines
  • CDC Advisors Endorse Maternal RSV Vax to Protect Newborns

Meeting Coverage

  • 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
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • A message of hope for physicians

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

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

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | 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
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

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

What if we treated physicians in training the way we want to be treated?
1 comments

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

Loading Comments...