By Tom Greidanus, MD, PCMS President 2018-2019
Following the PCMS symposium on wellness and other reading I’d done on the topic, it became clear to me that I am at high risk for burnout. You may share some of my personal risk factors: I do shift work, am in the field of emergency medicine, take work home with me as medical director, am in a private practice, am a mid-career physician, and feel frustrated with cumbersome computerized physician order entry (CPOE).
I was interested to see a recent article by the AMA that says we – physicians feeling burned out or at risk of burnout – need to, among other things, identify organizational and health care system factors that increase risk of distress for health care professionals. The AMA offers an open-access platform – STEPS Forward – that provides more than 50 modules with actionable, expert-driven strategies and insights supported by practical resources and tools. I urge you to reach out to your loved ones, colleagues or PCMS if you’re feeling overwhelmed. You are not alone. To access the AMA’s STEPS Forward modules, click here.