Barriers to seeking helpĪccording to an article published by the AMA, healthcare tends to create a culture in which physicians are programmed to cope alone, and that doctors’ experiences in residency often breed a survival mentality. He ignored many symptoms at the time, including unexplained anxiety or nausea, feelings of dread days before a shift, and decision fatigue. Mitchel Schwindt, MD, described some of these red flags in a article, which details his experiences with burnout. The key is to identify some of these red flags before you-or your colleagues-become overwhelmed. They may believe that there is no way to resolve the situation and become distant and resigned.Īnd finally, when the physical and emotional symptoms overwhelm the physician, they enter a phase of habitual burnout. The physician’s world becomes clouded with disillusionment and despair. Physicians may develop feelings of failure, incompetence, or inadequacy.Īn apathy stage follows. Physical and emotional symptoms of stress and depression begin to emerge.Īfter a while, chronic stress morphs into frustration. Work becomes all-consuming and personal boundaries may become porous, leading to an erosion of social and familial relationships. Some days may begin to feel more difficult than others. Without coping strategies, burnout leads to a sense of stagnation, followed by the onset of stress. It begins with a period of enthusiasm, known as the “Honeymoon Phase.” The physician may feel an increased commitment to work, but this inevitably leads to added stress as the physician gets worn out. Cognitive performance and motivation may also decline.Īuthors of the review provided a five-stage model that illustrates the burnout progression:
Physicians can become exhausted and appear to stop caring about patients.
The Local and Regional Anesthesia review notes that emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of low personal accomplishment are also symptoms. These signs may seem benign or like a part of everyday life, but if they persist, they can eventually lead to burnout. On the other hand, negative expectations about oneself or the world, or feelings of self-loathing, best-predicted effects on personal relationships. For example, irritability and trouble concentrating best-predicted difficulties at work. Researchers also identified symptoms that appeared to be related to specific burnout outcomes. Researchers concluded that fatigue, irritability, anxiety, and feeling “on edge” were most commonly associated with physicians who were burned out. Signs of burnoutĪ study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in April examined high rates of burnout among frontline caregivers responding to COVID-19, and found a number of symptoms that strongly predicted the condition. The condition has been linked to depression and increased risk of diabetes and coronary events. Studies have shown that burnout is associated with an increased risk of major medical errors, as well as health risks for doctors. And then there’s burnout’s equally dangerous cousin: compassion fatigue. Indeed, doctor burnout is an ever-growing concern, with reports published annually on the most burned-out specialties. However, as noted in an article published in the American Journal of Medicine, “some believe the condition to manifest at some level in nearly all physicians.” Physicians on the front lines of care, such as family medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine, tend to be at the greatest risk, wrote the authors.
Physicians and other healthcare professionals are at a high risk of burnout, but when is it time to seek professional help?