Early intervention key to combating physician burnout, suicide

Ending physician suicide from burnout relies on early identification of and intervention for unwellness before it leads to impairment, according to a speaker at the Ending Physician Burnout Global Summit.

“When we’re addressing physician burnout, we have to address the fact that it’s not always just burnout,” Owen Muir, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine, said during a presentation. “Burnout is a pervasive problem, but mental illness also exists, and we are particularly vulnerable.”

Study results showed the odds ratio for concurrent burnout and mental illness increases with burnout severity (mild: OR = 2.99; moderate: OR = 10.14; severe: OR = 92.78). According to Muir, although physicians focus on caring for their patients, value is too often measured by billing, coding and algorithms, and tedious tasks can crush the sense of wanting to make a difference and feeling like one is being made, which leads to the heart of burnout: meaninglessness.

“It doesn’t actually matter how much work you do, it’s how alive you feel while doing it that matters,” Muir said.

The problem with the burnout construct is physicians fearing perceived burdensomeness and retribution if they admit they need help, Muir noted.

“Our colleagues need to take a break before their breaking point,” Muir said. “This is crucial. The most important things we have to say are often the hardest. We support each other, as no one can do this alone.

“Everyone deserves help, but not everyone is able to receive it,” Muir concluded.