Physician Interrupted Podcast

The prevailing culture of medicine has been rooted in a bullying mindset. The bullying mindset seems to operate under the belief that only the tough can survive, so bullying is an accepted tactic to reach that end.

In this episode, Part 6B, we explore some of the elements of that bullying culture. And we call attention to the multiple components of the clinician distress matrix which, in any combination, add significant burden to a clinician’s achievement of wellbeing, independently of any consideration of burnout.

Thanks again for listening. Your comments and your sharing this blog and podcast will be most appreciated.

Though Part 6 was written as a single article, we thought it best for the podcast to break it up into 2 different segments.

This segment, Part 6A explores discrimination in its various forms and sexual harassment as significant contributors to some clinicians’ distress matrix.

We’d love your comments on the piece.

In this episode, we explore two major stress clusters which can independently contribute to clinician distress. Being a defendant in malpractice litigation causes off-the-scale stress over a prolonged period. So too does dealing with entities in the MRTC - the Medical Regulatory Therapeutic Complex (see our article exploring this in the footnote below).

Additionally, see a short video done by investigative journalist PJ Randhawa concisely relating the concerns about one PHP.

And the piece “To Heal or Not To Heal, Physician, That Is The Question”.

Would love to hear your comments below. And if you’ve found it informative, I’d be honored if you would share it with your colleagues.

Next session we cover two of the more insidious but nevertheless powerful sources of clinician distress: stress that results from discrimination in its various forms; and stress endured from the bully culture of medicine.

Thanks for listening!

(The entire Matrix of Clinician Distress series is available in article and podcast format - see footnote for more explanation on how to find.)

This is Part 4 of a 7 part series exploring the matrix of clinician distress. Here, we cover the two primary mood syndromes that, when they meet certain symptom criteria, i.e. enough of the symptom array, and exist for a certain duration and adversely impact your personal or work life, are considered “disorders.” Once they reach this level, then professional help is advisable.

(The entire Matrix of Clinician Distress series is available in article and podcast format - see footnote for more explanation on how to find.)

Turns out, what started as a three-article series expanded by necessity to become a 7 part series. This podcast and article explore the syndrome of grief (the emotion accompanying the process of bereavement), and the stress syndromes pertaining to psychological trauma.

Grief and Trauma – Exploring the Fuller Clinician Distress Map

Turns out this is a 5 part series. And for easier listening, I broke up Part 2 into three sections. This is Part 2 C. Here we recap Burnout, Compassion Fatigue and Moral Injury and consider approaches to their resolution.

Turns out this is a 5 part series. And for easier listening, I broke up Part 2 into three sections. This is Part 2 B. Here we focus on Moral Injury.

(The entire Matrix of Clinician Distress series is available in article and podcast format - see footnote for more explanation on how to find.)

Turns out this is a 7 part series. And for easier listening, I broke up Part 2 into three sections. This is Part 2 A. Here we delve into Burnout and its close cousin Compassion Fatigue.

Burnout Defined

Defined according to criteria progressively established by Christina Maslach and Richard Leiter, the essence of the burnout syndrome is this: it’s an occupational stress syndrome characterized by fatigue, detachment, and a reduced sense of accomplishment which especially afflicts people who do “people work” of some kind.

(The entire Matrix of Clinician Distress series is available in article and podcast format - see footnote for more explanation on how to find.)

Burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury are not interchangeable terms. They are distinctly different phenomena in the matrix of clinician distress.