Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

Again, like the complex patient, the factors that are more worrisome are those that are less easy to define. The declining morale, increased cynicism, and acceptance of weariness as the norm shows the slow erosion of our basic foundations of wellness within the medical community. The fact that these symptoms are more subtle, yet once taken root, equally devastating to a physician (or an organization) is alarming at best. Compassion is the recognition of suffering in another coupled with a desire to alleviate it. Dr. Beth Lown, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard, is the medical director of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare in Boston. She argues that compassion is a universal human response to suffering that organizations can extinguish very effectively. 17 “Drivers of this epidemic are largely rooted within healthcare organizations and systems and include excessive workloads, inefficient work processes, clerical burdens, work-home conflicts, lack of input or control for physicians with respect to issues affecting their work lives, organizational support structures and leadership culture.” 18 Reflection + Activity What factors in your training have helped you to remain fully present and engaged? What factors or processes during your training have hindered your ability to be mindful and/or fully present? Physician Burnout 35 WWW.PHYSICIANCAREERPLANNING.COM