Resident burnout: Unearthing the bigger picture

To fortify our understanding of burnout among residents, we have to widen the list of themes we consider, a leading scholar told a gathering of physicians from across the medical continuum. Learn what guidance he had to offer. A broader conversation The conventional focus on the work and learning environments, though important, is not enough to address burnout in residents, said DeWitt Baldwin, MD, senior scholar in residence at the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). In his remarks to the council’s first Symposium on Physician Well-being—part of the ACGME’s larger effort to transform residency to foster wellness—Dr. Baldwin encouraged consideration of the socio-economic setting in which residents work, the moral-ethical environment and the personal characteristics that individuals bring to the job. Standing in the way of the search for solutions is a culture that holds onto the stigma that surrounds mental and emotional health issues, he said. “The culture of medicine still entertains the view that persons who cannot cope or err or fail or are weak have violated the traditional norms of the physician as a strong, independent, self-sufficient perfectionist who does not and should not need help,” he said. “Absurdly, seeking therapy or even help from a wellness program may be seen [as] a weakness or failure,” he said, and it is sometimes looked on as something that could interfere with licensure and employment opportunities....
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news