Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

SECTION I: T MINUS THREE YEARS Reflection + Activity Using the tools discussed, construct a list of three questions you would ask of a future employer about the culture of wellness amongst their physicians. There appears to be some encouraging news. A study recently published in "Mayo Clinic Proceedings" reported a drop in the U.S. physician burnout rate from 54.4% in 2014 to 43.9% in 2017. Despite this, the rate of depression in physicians has increased steadily, from 38.2% in 2011 to 41.87% in 2017. 13 However, the relationship of burnout to depression and other DSM disorders is not well understood. 14 Even the definition of burnout has been called into question 15 by some, as well as the suggestion that other terms may more accurately describe this phenomenon physicians are experiencing. 16 Like treating that complex patient, progress in battling the disease of burnout is often one step forward, two steps back. Clearly there is more to discover regarding this complex phenomenon. The take-home message, however is clear. If you are a practicing physician you are at high risk for burnout, which is accompanied by a host of problematic consequences. The prudent course on this journey is to familiarize yourself with the most common scenarios and risks that lead to burnout. It is also wise to observe what level of knowledge those around you have about burnout and what they are doing to mitigate circumstances that lead to burnout. This is an often-overlooked but crucial step to include in your decision-making paradigm as you search for a job. R E A D : Identify Prospect Employers Who Support Physician Wellness and Physician Burnout Prevention One of the most anxiety provoking experiences for a developing physician is learning how to “know” when something isn’t “right.” The early clinical years are spent learning the very basic “sick vs. not sick” amongst dozens of patients first seen on the wards. As you progress through your clinical training, you become much more efficient in those skills. By residency graduation, you can walk into almost any patient encounter and make that decision in what seems, in retrospect, like light speed. Being able to determine if an employer is cultivating a culture of burnout prevention and wellness may also seem to be a daunting task. Fortunately, just like there are “tells” that you learn for clinical medicine, the same can be true for evaluating future employers in this capacity. Here are a few of our favorites: CAREER AND LIFE PLANNING GUIDEBOOK FOR MEDICAL RESIDENTS 42