Spotting and Combating Burnout in Health Care

Burnout is the state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by one’s professional life. The term was first used by the psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, the author of Burnout: The High Cost of Achievement, to describe the consequences of people in high-stress careers with set ideals. Freudenberger noted that burnout was particularly prevalent in “helping” professions like health care.

Burnout in health care is on the rise, including physician burnout, nurse burnout, and that of virtually every other profession in the medical industry. According to Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report 2017, which comprised more than 14,000 participants, 51% reportedly suffer from burnout. That’s up from 46% in 2015 and 40% in 2013.

Burnout rates in health care appear to be even higher in women. Approximately 55% of women in the 2017 study reported burnout compared with 45% of men. Conversely, 45% of men and 39% of women reported being happy at work.

Why Health Care Workers Suffer From Burnout

Health care is a high-stress industry, making it ripe for burnout. There are a number of things that can cause burnout among health care professionals:

• Long, demanding hours
• Pressure from patients or colleagues
• Employer issues
• Work overload
• Too many administrative challenges

Problems outside of work can also lead to burnout. Understanding how at risk you are for burnout is important. Once you know what can trigger it, you can begin to develop preventive coping mechanisms to head it off at the pass.

How to Identify and Combat Health Care Burnout

There are no quick fixes when dealing with burnout. Realizing that you are suffering from the condition is a great first step. Some of the following steps could provide the solution you need to deal with burnout.

See your doctor

It may seem counterintuitive to visit another medical professional, but a physician trained in stress management can offer a different perspective and identify issues that may be aggravating the issue. Existing medical conditions, nutritional imbalances, and lack of sleep can all play a part and add to the feeling of burnout.

Be aware of your feelings

When you’re feeling burned out, it can be difficult to determineexactly how you feel and what is wrong, which can add to your stress levels. Being present in the moment is a great way to zero in on exactly how you feel as you are feeling it, so you can isolate any triggers that might not previously have been obvious to you. Doing this frequently throughout the day, even if it’s just for a couple of seconds, can help you understand how you feel and why. Once you know how you feel—whether stressed, angry, tense, or tired—and why you feel this way, you can take steps to fix it.

Exercise more

Exercise can be a great stress reliever. If you feel like you are suffering from symptoms of burnout and you don’t have an exercise plan, consider incorporating it into your daily routine. Health care professionals have some of the busiest lives of any profession, but even 10 minutes of jumping rope or yoga stretches in the morning can help you focus.

Talk to people

Reaching out to friends, family, and even colleagues can be a great way to relieve stress. Even if you only tell someone how you are feeling at that very moment, saying it out loud can help you understand how you feel. Speaking to other professionals can help you understand that other people feel the way you do. Knowing that you are not alone can be a big help.

Get away from it all

If you’re burned out at work, trying to power through it is not the answer. Instead, take a break, and try to get away. It doesn’t have to be for a week; a weekend can work, too. A change of scenery could be just the thing you need to recharge your battery.

Be open to new opportunities

Quitting your job may seem like the most straightforward solution, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t feel the same way in your new job. Before considering quitting, implement some of the strategies mentioned previously that can help you relieve stress and achieve a better work-life balance. If you still feel burned out after a couple of months of implementing these coping techniques, take a closer look at your hours and responsibilities and consider other career options that will work best for you (eg, locum tenens work, seeing fewer patients, relocating to a rural setting).

It’s normal to feel stressed in any profession, but when feeling fed up becomes the norm, it’s time to take steps to deal with burnout before it affects your entire life.