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BLOG: Be a better doctor by being a better you
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Do you spend long nights at work, staring at your computer screen until your eyes hurt? Are your days and nights spent preoccupied with your job, while those things you used to love wither away?
If either of these things are true, chances are it may be affecting your ability to provide care for your patients.
Although most look at their jobs as doctors as something that needs to be all-consuming in order to be fruitful or effective, the thing that most forget is the toll this lifestyle can take on your personal life and, in turn, your personality. Sleep deprivation, a lack of family time and getting away from doing the things you love are often some of the biggest reasons doctors burn out and stop caring. This can lead to a lack of desire to cultivate the personal side of patient care and thus hinder your ability to grow as a doctor.
It is for this reason that you must strike a balance between personal life and work life in order to become the doctor that you know you wish to be. Here are a few tips to help you do precisely that.
Take regular days off. As a doctor, chances are you have been bred to only take days off when you absolutely need to. But what happens when a patient absolutely needs to meet with you on this day? Or what happens when there’s a “work emergency” that forces you to push that day off further down the road? Unfortunately, not scheduling a regular day or two off where you simply cannot be reached can cause that can to be kicked indefinitely.
As such, start scheduling regular and consistent days off so your patients and your staff start expecting you to be gone on those days. You’ll get the rest you need and perhaps stave off getting burnt out as the years go forward. Remember: all work and no sleep makes one angry and tired doctor.
Don’t get too clinical. Yes, you need to be professional as a doctor, but that doesn’t mean you need to lose your personal side. Do your best to actually interact with your patients. Ask them about things outside of the reason they are there and try to form relationships with them – even if you don’t necessarily want to be friends. The more you keep your mind distracted from the task at hand, the more you can find the fun in the daily drudgery that often comes with being a doctor.
We’re all social creatures, and the moment you lose sight of that and begin treating your patients like clipboards and conditions (rather than people) is the moment you go down a road you simply don’t want to travel.
Don’t forget your hobbies and your life. A trap I see many doctors fall into is that they become the “doctor” 24/7. They lose sight of the stuff they love to do and the people they love to be with; quite simply, they lose themselves to the profession. Unfortunately, while some of these doctors are great doctors, many are unhappy, grumpy and unpleasant to be around. This is why you have to hold onto the part of you that makes you who you are.
If you love playing golf, go play a round of golf each week. If you love unwinding on the sofa at home with a video game or some sports, make sure you take the time to do that each night. If you have a family that you love, take them on outings and make sure you’re around. Everyone knows that you are busy, but you should never be so busy that you abandon the things you love.
At the end of the day, you need to find a balance between your work life and your home life. If you don’t, your ability to be the doctor that you want to be may be compromised. Be yourself so you can be the best doctor possible.