A Burnt-out Physician’s Guide to Staying on Top of Things

Thanks to modern advancements, new research, treatments, and trials that are being developed every single day. As a Physician, this comes as thrilling news – but also with an overwhelming cost. Physicians already have high demand being placed on them, contributing to feelings of burnout. Add in the responsibility of staying on top of clinical advancements and you can get very overwhelmed.

According to new research, Physicians that stay up to date often engage with online content in between patient visits and during their free time. This is a huge sacrifice to pay on an already demanding workload. In fact, the Journal of General Internal Medicine recently found that Primary Care Physicians would need to do nearly 26.7 hours of clinical work per day to provide guideline-recommended care. If you ask me, that is completely absurd!

In a report published by Doximity, 98% of Physicians said they engage with news or medical information during the workday yet spend 30 minutes or less reviewing this information. This indicates that Physicians can benefit from brief yet impactful research throughout the workday. For this to be most successful, many Physicians believe that dynamic content optimized for mobile devices is best. This should come as no surprise, since Physicians are constantly on the go.

Hospitals will continue to see staff burnout and workforce shortages with 95% of Physicians stating that they are interested in learning about new trials, treatments, and procedures yet 68% participants indicating that they feel overwhelmed by the amount of information with which they must stay current.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy advises hospitals and health systems to listen to their staff and seek their perspective in improving workflows and organizational culture. This, along with workplace balance, could be essential in optimizing the interests of Physicians and curbing burnout. This is likely not the quick fix that we’d all like and want, but it should help moves things in the right direction.

Sources:

1. https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/physicians-struggling-stay-top-clinical-advancements

2. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/study-doximity-survey-found-physicians-overwhelmed-amount-reading-needed-stay-date

5077625NC_Nov24