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Personal, organizational strategies maximize wellness, decrease burnout
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ORLANDO — Physician burnout must be recognized and addressed if it is to be ameliorated or prevented, the ACG president said during her address to the 30th Annual Practice Management Course held before the World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG 2017.
“We are really disproportionately affected by workplace stress and burnout and that leads to changes in all aspects of our life including in the professional workplace and at home,” Carol Burke, MD, vice chair, department of gastroenterology and hepatology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, said during her address. “Personal and organizational strategies are required to maximize our wellness and decrease stress.”
Burke discussed how those physicians and trainees who met exercise targets set by the CDC showed lower rates of burnout and reported higher quality of life. She showed that facilitated interventions such as small group discussions, mindfulness, meditation and reflections on shared experiences improved patient care and reduced burnout.
She recognized, though, that these methods are not always easily attained and she gave these more specific pointers to the attendees:
- “Adopt healthy behaviors: Engage in recreation and vacation. Practice mindfulness and find meaning in life and give gratitude where you can.”
- “Professionally, develop a structure to support employees. Decrease interaction with the electronic medical record. Encourage employees to work congruently with your values and interests. Improve workplace communication and give credit to people.”
- “Provide autonomy. There’s data that shows if you give employees at least 20% of their time dedicated to engaging in desired activities that will improve themselves and your practice, really can decrease burnout.”
- “Create workplace flexibility. By all means, virtual visits. Let the part timers come in later. Let them leave a little bit earlier.”
Making these changes can help both physicians and patients, Burke said.
“Those physicians who are very in tune and satisfied with work have higher patient satisfaction,” she said. “Recognize that burnout exists and there’s a lot of stress in our lives and you need to prioritize work-life balance.” – by Katrina Altersitz
Reference: Burke C. 30th Annual Practice Management Course. Presented at: World Congress of Gastroenterology at American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting; Oct. 13-18, 2017; Orlando, FL.
Disclosures: Burke reports no relevant financial disclosures.