Host: Dr. Agboola MD, MS 

Guests:  Dr. Arelene Chung MD, Dr. Chris Doty MD,  Dr. Alicia Kurtz MD 

Overview:

On this episode, Doctors Agboola, Chung, Kurtz, and Doty discuss the topic of “The Elephant in the Room: ‘Burnout’”. They spend time discussing: Defining the term of burnout, How to recognize symptoms of burnout in others,  Getting past the platitudes of “yoga & exercise”, Moral injury, The Unspoken Curriculum, and Models of Wellness.

Key Resources:

 

• EMRA Wellness Committee : https://www.emra.org/be-involved/committees/wellness-committee/

• EMRA Wellness Handbook : https://www.emra.org/books/emra-wellness-guide/cover/

 

• Airway Stories : https://airwaystories.org/author/airwaystories/

 

• Real Talk :  https://www.vituity.com/realtalk

 

Key Points:

• “Adversity is coming for all of us”
• We operate in a specialty that lends itself to “burnout”
• Moral Injury is better terminology to use than burnout because “burnout” puts the impetus on the individual rather than on the system that causes it
• It’s critical to find an outlet, whether that be in the curriculum of your program or elsewhere through modalities online. 
• Online modalities such as these include Airway Stories and Real Talk
• “Burnout” ≄ Depression 
• Recognizing burnout is often difficult because each person manifests it in different ways. Look for acute changes in a person’s behavior or mood. 
• “Burnout” is a moving target, there are a variety of different ways to approach it

References:

 

• Stanford Model of Wellness : https://wellmd.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/wellmd/documents/2017-wellmd-status-report-dist-1.pdf 

 

• National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience : https://nam.edu/initiatives/clinician-resilience-and-well-being/ 

 

• Medscape National Physician Burnout Depression and Suicide Report 2019 : https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2019-lifestyle-burnout-depression-6011056#1