The Disease Amongst Doctors

 Richael Lamendola 

Professor Horgan 

HST 401 

8 February 2023 

The Disease Amongst Doctors

In recent years, the main pandemic on the minds of the public is the notorious COVID-19, but perhaps there is an even deadlier plague on the rise: physician burnout. 

When we enter our doctor’s office, it is natural to assume that we are in the hands of the most capable people; in fact, in a study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, it was reported that 84% of the general public have trust in their doctors. But what would happen to this trust if the public was informed that their physician was unhappy with their job, overworked, inattentive, and unmotivated? Would this change the population’s confidence in doctors?

Physician burnout is generally categorized by three main symptoms: exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of efficacy. Exhaustion from physician burnout is far different from grogginess during work hours or taking an extra ten minutes to roll out of bed in the morning. It appears as constant fatigue, irritability, and inattentiveness. Physician burnout places doctors at an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, substance abuse, mood disorders, and suicide. Not only does this exhaustion impose an increased risk on the safety of the physician, it also greatly increases risk of malpractice and has been linked to increased medical errors. 

As most patients can attest, proficient healthcare is a combination of meeting the client’s physical needs, as well as their emotional ones. While physician burnout elevates the risk of errors involving physical care, it also often strips the patient of having an emotional connection with their doctor. Clinicians suffering from depersonalization are typically drained from emotional energy, reducing patient satisfaction and quality of care. The third symptom – lack of efficacy – is responsible for a doctor’s lack of personal motivation in their career. It appears far more frequently in female physicians but is responsible for constant doubts regarding career choices, which can negatively impact a clinician’s mental health.

The life of a healthcare worker is known for being chaotic and stressful, especially during more recent times with the additional burden of COVID-19. The causes of physician burnout are numerous but include stressors such as, “time pressure, chaotic environments, low control over work pace, and unfavorable organizational culture,” as was identified in an article written by The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

Possible solutions are constantly being deliberated in an attempt to prevent physician burnout and ensure sufficient quality of care for patients. Proposed interventions include shortened shifts for physicians, method of compensation, more frequent employment of medical scribes, mentorship programs, faculty retreats, as well as time-banking systems to accurately reward physicians for extra time worked. 

Across the country, medical advancements are persistently on the rise, with the intention of improving patient quality of care. As mentioned in the article “How to Survive the Medical Misinformation Mess” which appears in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation, “Important barriers and considerations for successful clinical practice change may include personal factors (e.g. motivation, time…).” A great contributor to decreased quality of care is physician burnout, which is taking the country by storm. In order to match the constant technological evolutions in medicine, it is important that physician burnout be prevented whenever possible to ensure patient satisfaction and safety, as well as mental health and safety of clinicians. 

Citations

Carrau, Diana and Janis, Jeffrey E. “Physician Burnout: Solutions for Individuals and

Organizations.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. 16 Feb. 2021, doi:

10.1097/GOX.0000000000003418

Drummond, Dike. “Physician Burnout: Its Origin, Symptoms, and Five Main Causes.” American

Academy of Family Physicians, 31 Aug. 2015, www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2015/0900

/p42.html. 

Ioannidis, John P A et al. “How to survive the medical misinformation mess.” European journal

of clinical investigation vol. 47,11 (2017): 795-802. doi:10.1111/eci.12834

NORC at the University of Chicago. “Surveys of Trust in the U.S. Health Care System.” 21 May,

2021. Powerpoint Presentation.

Patel, Rikinkumar S et al. “Factors Related to Physician Burnout and Its Consequences: A

Review.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. 25 Oct. 2018, doi: 10.3390/bs8110098

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