Gone Fishing

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been tramping around New Zealand on vacation. We visited the south island which is absolutely gorgeous, did the Heaphy track on the north side, seeing a whole smattering of different ecosystems, then traveled down to the south tip to do the Hump Ridge track. We saw tons of sheep, dolphins, and birds, ate amazing food, kayaked on beautiful lakes, visited dozens of waterfalls, and slept a ton. I had expected to have more internet access, but even when I did, I got distracted from blogging. We'll hopefully be back on schedule shortly.

A recent Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report finds that critical care physicians are the most burnt out specialty at 53%, though anesthesiologists a little better at 44%. Burnout (loss of enthusiasm for work, feelings of cynicism, and low sense of personal accomplishment) has increased substantially since the last report two years ago. This is a big deal. Half of physicians have these negative reactions to their job. And as a critical care fellow, I see a lot of it reflected in my peers, my trainees, and my supervisors. Burnout affects health, physicians leaving their jobs, risk of suicide, and patient outcomes. If any other industry had half their workers this unhappy, changes would be made. Most of the causes of burnout are bureaucracy, work-hour, income, and loss of autonomy related.

In any case, I bring this up because the survey mentions that perhaps outside activities like spending time with family, travel, exercise, reading, and cultural events may reduce our work-related burnout. I feel so much more recharged after this vacation. I'm more alert, attentive, interested, and excited to jump into clinical practice. Encourage your physicians and peers to take time off and watch for feelings of burnout.