Burnout: Fact Vs. Fiction
According to the 2022 Medscape Physician Burnout & Depression report, 56% of women physicians are burned out (up from 51% last year). This issue isn’t going away any time soon.
When you’re deep in the trenches of burnout, overwhelm and stress it’s important to separate fact from fiction:
Fiction: “Burnout is just a normal part of working in medicine.”
Fact: Burnout is actually a syndrome that results from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
Fiction: “If I made it through school, rotations, licensing and board exams, I can handle burnout!”
Fact: Your education, training and exams occurred over finite periods of time. However, you were not meant to live in a chronic state of burnout, overwhelm and stress. Not only is it detrimental to your health, it negatively impacts the relationships with your patients and the care you provide. .
Fiction: “Well it’s my job’s fault! If I had a different job, I wouldn’t be burned out!”
Fact: A combination of workplace, lifestyle and personality factors contribute to burnout. Since each of these dimensions must be addressed to successfully (and permanently) recover from burnout, getting a different job isn’t always the solution.
Fiction: “It’s going to take a lot of time (that I don’t have) and effort to fix my burnout!”
Fact: Burnout recovery can start immediately with a few subtle internal shifts and time management/workflow hacks that are easy to implement in your day to day life.
Fiction: ”It’s not that bad. Maybe I just need to toughen up.”
Fact: Admitting that you’re burned out and recognizing that you’re NOT okay (awareness) is the first step to recovery. The way you feel right now is valid and there's no need to feel bad about that. And the only thing that needs to toughen up are your boundaries!
Fiction: ”Medicine is my calling–it’s who I am.”
Fact: You are more than medicine! Remember that your career is just one aspect of your life. Don’t forget to create your big-picture vision and tend the garden of the other areas of your life too.
As a high-achieving woman, it's easy to get used to struggle and sacrifice, so that makes it easier for you to believe fiction over the facts when it comes to burnout.
But the most important truth you need to know about burnout is this:
Burnout is optional–and completely fixable.
I help women in medicine opt-out of the burnout cycle without leaving medicine by learning a simple 3 step process:
-Revealing your specific burnout patterns,
-Releasing thoughts and emotions keeping you stuck; and
-Recreating your environment.
That's it. That’s what we focus on each week for 90 days in my 1:1 program Beyond Burnout™.
If you're done being part of the 56% and interested in exploring what working together could look like, book your free consultation today.