There exists well established tools for assessing harmful, dysfunctional, or toxic work environments. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) has a decades-long track record of success for measuring the degree of job-related burnout present in any one individual, with both high sensitivity and specificity. The Maslach......
08 May, 2020 Burnout Provider WellnessHigh and increasing rates of burnout amongst healthcare providers has been well documented. Large scale studies have revealed job-related burnout (JRB) rates of over 50% across all the medical specialties nationwide. In some specialties burnout rates approach 70%, as in emergency medicine. The three hallmarks,......
16 April, 2020 Burnout Provider WellnessAn undergraduate degree in the sciences. Check. An advanced degree in medicine. Check. Years of training in my chosen field of medicine. Check. So, I should be able to take care of my own medical issues, right? I mean, who knows me better than me?......
07 January, 2020 Burnout Provider WellnessEach of us have four primary life realms—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Each must be attended to and nourished. They do not require equal time or weight, but all require some of our time and attention. It isn’t as if you won’t have a long......
08 October, 2019 Burnout Provider WellnessAt last. You’ve graduated and finished your training. You found the job of your dreams and moved to a city of your liking. You put your head down, got to work, and settled into a routine. The paychecks are coming regularly and, for the first......
24 September, 2019 Burnout Provider WellnessThis is the third post in a series on common mistakes I have seen residents and other professionals make just out of training, mistakes with long-term, often severe, consequences. The first post-training mistake I covered was the debt trap. The second was with employment agreements.......
05 September, 2019 Burnout Provider WellnessThis is the second post in a series on common mistakes I have seen residents and other professionals make just out of training, mistakes with long-term, often severe, consequences. The first post-training mistake I covered in my last post was the debt trap. In this......
14 May, 2019 Provider WellnessIn medicine, our first charge is to do no harm. As providers in healthcare we are always cognizant of this imperative. We live with a certain fear of missing something, omitting something, of making a mistake which might bring harm to a patient. Those are......
02 April, 2019 Burnout Provider Wellness Substance Use DisordersOne day, you will become a patient. We all will. Even before that happens, you may find yourself in the role as caregiver, caring for a loved one who is convalescing, ill, or dying. Healthcare providers know and expect what this entails, for we are......
03 January, 2019 BurnoutIn the United States, alcohol is a pervasive and socially acceptable drug. Unlike other mood-altering drugs, no prescription is needed. Supermarket and other retail outlet shelves are lined with all manners of alcohol containing beverages from beer to wine to liquor. All that is necessary......
02 August, 2018 Substance Use DisordersIt seems not a week goes by now without news of a celebrity who has committed suicide, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain being the two most recent celebrities. Sometimes suicide touches our lives more profoundly, more personally, because the victim was close to us. All......
22 June, 2018 Burnout Provider Wellness Substance Use DisordersOn the surface this appears to be a classic chicken or egg question, until you dig a little deeper. A moment’s reflection on our current understanding of job related burnout (JRB) will offer a responsible answer. It is an observational fact that you can be......
10 May, 2018 Burnout Substance Use DisordersI want you to picture in your mind the image of a drunk, specifically, an alcoholic. Got it? Is your image that of a male or female? Is your image that of a closet-drinking professional or a skid row bum? Odds are good your image......
22 March, 2018 Substance Use Disorders“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” ~ Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist Like most life changing moments, it crept up on me and totally grabbed me. It was the most miraculous event I’ve ever witnessed. I remember the moment it happened as if it......
23 February, 2018 Provider WellnessThe three principle hallmarks of burnout have been well described — emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. These may accurately describe the symptoms, but these are not the same as the changes in mindset which can occur as a......
31 January, 2018 Burnout Provider WellnessMost of us know firsthand the loss of productivity and impact that absenteeism has in the workplace. It is not a completely unknown or foreign concept. When we take time out of work for being sick, we may actually feel guilty for being absent knowing......
15 December, 2017 Provider WellnessOkay, so you feel completely burned out at your job but you’ve decided to put your head down, grind away and tough it out until retirement. You have come to believe your current misery is better than the unknowns of change. Have you stopped to......
11 October, 2017 BurnoutI want a 30+ year job I hate in a career I despise. I want to spend every working moment wishing I were somewhere else, working with somebody else and doing something else, but never feeling inclined to change anything. I want to perpetually dread......
12 September, 2017 Provider WellnessOne faithful day, you notice you wake up and immediately find yourself in a dreadful mood. The thought of going into work almost nauseates you. You search for any kind of meaning in the work you do, but find none. “Soul sucking” are words you......
22 August, 2017 BurnoutWe hear the word “wellness” quite a bit these days. Perhaps because so many are feeling unwell – dissatisfied in their work or with their lives. But what does it mean to be “well”? In the healthcare industry, we talk about burnout and engagement. Emotional......
08 August, 2017 Provider Wellness