Reflections in Medicine and Medical Education 2014

2014 has been a tumultuous year, especially in medicine.  Frustrations with electronic health record systems, the Ebola virus, reactions to the Ebola virus, response to the new MOC requirements, burnout, and many others all contributed to the complexities that exist in medicine.  In medical education, questions like "what do the milestones really mean?" are common thoughts emanating from educators.  I'm not even touching Entrustable Professional Activities either!

Our school also passed a new conflict of interest policy.  I was privileged to lead this effort in 2014, and, despite unanimous approval of the policy in less than a year, I continue to get more questions "what about my situation?  Is that ok?"

In short, it is a tough time to be in medicine, no doubt.  Increased fear of being sued, decreased reimbursement, more regulatory requirements, and the uncertainty of exactly where medicine is going make for challenging times.

So how do people cope with this?  

Some choose to go "nose to the grindstone" and work harder.

Some decide to "call it quits" and leave medicine.

Some opt to "fight back", through advocacy in the form of blogs saying "enough is enough".

Some take a step back and say "at least I have a job and job security".

Some are put off by the "it's a job" phrasing, opting for "it's a profession, and unfortunately it is slowly eroding".

I know that resiliency is a helpful trait to handle all the changes, but still, I don't have all the answers.  I strongly believe that in the end, what I do matters, to learners, to patients, and to future learners and patients.  What trainees do matters.  What doctors and other healthcare professionals do matters.

That, coupled with blessings of continued good health, allows me a little peace in a hectic world moving at a frenetic pace.  Just try to search for your own similar peace.

Happy Holidays to All!

Alex

Burnout and Resiliency in Medicine

I have not blogged in a while; there are many reasons for this, including many things going on in my life as well as with my work as a medical educator and administrator.  The weather here in the Midwest has also been challenging this winter (and another storm headed this way over the next 24 hours) which likely has contributed to my lack of blogging.

Nevertheless, I really enjoy what I do and find meaning in my work.  In fact, a timely discussion with residents during a teaching clinic highlighting this really hit home.  We were talking about burnout and ways to combat it.  The practice of medicine is hard: helping improve the health of our patients is a privilege which brings great responsibility.  This can, however, impact physicians’ own lives in various ways.

Social media itself (in the form of blogging) can be a great tool to ease burnout in medicine.  See this recent blog on this very topic. 

Can burnout be prevented?  What about resiliency in medicine?  Does one's resiliency lessen the potential impact of burnout?  Our institution is proud to host the FIRM (Finding Inspiration and Resilience in Medicine) conference on April 25, 2014.  This conference is being organized by medical students, which really demonstrates how our future generation is paving the way for the necessary changes to the way medicine can and will be practiced.  At that conference, one of our own faculty who wrote a recent post on this topic will be featured. 

So what steps do you take to prevent burnout?  How can you develop the resilience necessary to stay on top of your game and be the best you can be for patients and for yourself/your family?  Some have described interventions during training that impact burnout.  These curricular efforts should be applauded, and are one step towards an improved culture in medicine that helps everyone: patients and health care professionals alike.