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

The unspoken epidemic: Why health care professionals aren’t talking about burnout

Varun Verma, MD
Physician
January 29, 2023
7 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

We don’t talk about burnout.

I recently reunited with a former medical school classmate for lunch and realized that I talked more to him in two hours about my experiences over the past few years than with my hospitalist colleagues at work or my closest friends. I’ve only ever dared to mention anything to my wife and brother (both physicians).

Lots of sources define burnout as the accumulation of stress over time that leads to exhaustion and feelings of helplessness. Sometimes superficial prescriptions are given, such as the importance of practicing self-care and finding ways to manage stress to mitigate burnout. I do realize that not everyone is burned out. Some people love what they do, and their work lives align perfectly with their personal vision. One of my closest friends is a vascular surgeon with a physician spouse and young kids like me. He works 80-hour weeks and performs complex surgeries without apparent struggle. Sometimes I envy his enthusiasm and wonder what I’m doing wrong. I don’t think I chose the wrong specialty (I switched from Ophthalmology to Internal Medicine a long time ago), and I’ve worked at more than ten hospitals so I know challenges aren’t isolated to any system.

Few physicians, nurses, or other health care professionals I know talk about burnout with anyone. I guess we fear being labeled as weak or having a character flaw. As highly trained health care professionals, we think we are in control and can power through and fix any issue. We dread asking for help, and we worry that even hinting at challenges may be a sign of surrender that many of us can’t bring ourselves to do. So, what do we do? Absolutely nothing different; we keep showing up day after day to help patients.

Burnout can have serious effects on both our mental and physical health, our personal lives, and our career longevity. At some point, many people realize they’ve had enough suffering in silence. They move on to another employer or simply drop out of the health care ecosystem completely in self-preservation.

Institutions keep creating committees, hotlines that we can call, and online resources so that health care professionals can reach out for professional help if necessary. But are the health care professionals who need help actually getting it? What actionable steps are truly effective? Instinctively, many health care professionals realize that having safe staffing ratios and decreasing workload must be helpful (how can it not?). The institutional answer of periodic pizza parties, mandatory wellness modules, once-a-year retreats, or the like certainly don’t seem to work.

A whole private industry focuses on coaching, courses, and other interventions. Many residents and early career physicians likely cannot afford to fork over $500 to 1000 per month for ongoing coaching or $25 to 50K per year for some “elite” mastermind. I don’t doubt the effectiveness of the offerings, but given the premium price point, it’s simply not going to help the masses.

Sadly, I fear that the main issue is a fundamental disconnect between the “no money, no mission” culture of the medical-industrial complex and the needs of the human beings that work in these systems. I predict that the prevalence of burnout among all health care workers will likely get worse and, along with it, the widespread staffing challenges.

Varun Verma is an internal medicine physician who blogs at his self-titled site, Varun Verma, M.D. He can be reached on Twitter @VarunVermaMD. 

Prev

Missed signs: a doctor's reflection on depression [PODCAST]

January 28, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

The $6 soup that saved a pregnant patient $20,000

January 29, 2023 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Missed signs: a doctor's reflection on depression [PODCAST]
Next Post >
The $6 soup that saved a pregnant patient $20,000

More by Varun Verma, MD

  • A physician shares his financial mistakes

    Varun Verma, MD
  • Doctors, how are you holding up? You could answer in one of 5 ways.

    Varun Verma, MD
  • A physician’s predictions about COVID-19

    Varun Verma, MD

Related Posts

  • How social media can help or hurt your health care career

    Health eCareers
  • A step forward: a way to advance the mental health of health care professionals

    Mattie Renn, Thomas Pak, and Corey Feist, JD, MBA
  • The epidemic of violence against health care workers

    Marlene Harris-Taylor
  • Health care professionals who fast and celebrate the month of Ramadan

    Nasir Malim, MD, MPH
  • Why should health care professionals care about gun control?

    Sobia Ansari, MD, MPH
  • Almost half of health care workers are not doctors and nurses. Health policies must address their burnout too.

    Irving Gold

More in Physician

  • Breaking the cycle of failure in modern medicine

    Kortney West, MD
  • From license to loneliness: the dilemma of retired physicians

    Richard Plotzker, MD
  • Unlearning our habits: a journey from intelligence to wisdom

    Brian Sayers, MD
  • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

    James Young, MD
  • Maximizing physician potential: How coaching can aid in conflict resolution, enhance health care leadership and build stronger teams

    Asha Padmanabhan, MD
  • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

    Jack Resneck, Jr., MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

      Jack Resneck, Jr., MD | Physician
    • From clocking in to clocking out: the transition to retirement

      Debbie Moore-Black, RN | Conditions
    • Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Breaking the cycle of failure in modern medicine

      Kortney West, MD | Physician
    • ChatGPT: the Napster of the AI world?

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The missing piece of physicians’ financial plans

      Daniel B. Wrenne, CFP | Finance
    • Counterfeit drugs: a hidden danger lurking in your medicine cabinet

      Emily Kahoud | Meds
    • How understanding cultural backgrounds can lead to better patient care [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

  • Is Surgery Riskier After a COVID Infection?
  • The Best Medicine for Healthcare Workers: A Living Wage
  • Meat Consumption and UTIs; Air Pollution's Effects on Health
  • 'Early Birds' With Sleep Apnea May Get More CPAP Benefits
  • Mental Health Care Goes Beyond Just the Patient

Meeting Coverage

  • VTE Risk in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Increases With More Lines of Chemotherapy
  • Obesity's Impact on Uterine Cancer Risk Greater in Younger Age Groups
  • Oral Roflumilast Effective in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis
  • Phase III Trials 'Hit a Home Run' in Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Cannabis Use Common in Post-Surgery Patients on Opioid Tapering
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Beyond pizza and pens: National Doctors’ Day should be about saving lives

      James Young, MD | Physician
    • Physicians are a finite resource we need to protect

      Jack Resneck, Jr., MD | Physician
    • From clocking in to clocking out: the transition to retirement

      Debbie Moore-Black, RN | Conditions
    • Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Collaborating with occupational therapists: a game-changer for behavioral health [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Breaking the cycle of failure in modern medicine

      Kortney West, MD | Physician
    • ChatGPT: the Napster of the AI world?

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • The missing piece of physicians’ financial plans

      Daniel B. Wrenne, CFP | Finance
    • Counterfeit drugs: a hidden danger lurking in your medicine cabinet

      Emily Kahoud | Meds
    • How understanding cultural backgrounds can lead to better patient care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

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

The unspoken epidemic: Why health care professionals aren’t talking about burnout
1 comments

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

Loading Comments...