Therapy for Physician Burnout: You’re the Jerk
It feels like your relationship with co-workers is off. The nurses aren’t as helpful and it seems like you have to do everything yourself. When there’s a misstep, it’s always the other people's fault. When you do make a mistake and recognize that it’s your fault, you don’t own up to it. It’s the same thing when you treat someone poorly. You keep on moving forward because what else can you do? You want those close working relationships because you want work to be enjoyable. You don’t know what to do. In this blog, I’ll explain why you could be burned out and why you’re the jerk.
Helping people is hard. It takes tons of energy to be calm, understanding, compassionate, and have patience when the situation takes a turn for the worse. Many people have the energy to do it regularly. To do it all the time is extremely hard and taxing. The expectation in medicine is to do it all the time. There are zero breaks. You know exactly what I’m talking about (cough cough- patient satisfaction scores.) This non-stop giving of energy to be on can take a toll. It can turn into burnout.
Burnout: Changing View of Patients
A hallmark of burnout syndrome is a shift in a person’s view of other people. Most physicians start with a positive and caring view of their patients. They want to do their best. They want to help all the people get better. They want to save people. As their time in the field progresses, those that are burning out start to have a negative and uncaring view of their patients. At times, they may even view their patients as a number. (cough cough- RVU bonus). Physicians that are burned out can’t stand their patients and the never-ending list of problems they want to solve in a 15-minute visit. If you’re feeling this shift and resentment towards patients, you may be burning out.
The environment may be burning you out but you still have to own the situation. You have to recognize that you still have a choice in this situation. When people experience burnout, they start to experience depersonalization. Depersonalization can be seen as being disconnected from work and others as shown by being negative, cynical, and cold in your interactions. This could mean you snapping at your co-worker over a trivial issue. For many, when a person disconnects from work and others, it’s a coping mechanism in an attempt to survive and push through the situation. You’re being a jerk to push people away from you because you’re emotionally exhausted from being in the situation. When you’re a jerk and push people away, you’re continuing to perpetuate your situation. A person needs positive social interaction with peers when they are burning out.
Therapy for Physician Burnout
Your coping skills aren’t helping you. You’re being a jerk because you are trying to feel better but it’s not going to work. You’re going to continue to dig yourself into a deeper hole. It’s hard to take a step back and recognize what’s going on. If you’re able to pause to take a moment to reflect on what’s going on, you’re headed in the right direction. If you’re not liking your interactions with your co-workers and peers, you might be a jerk.
If you haven’t read the burnout article I wrote, I’d suggest you check it out here. Burnout isn’t 100% your fault. Burnout is a combination of institutional and individual factors. Though you may not have control over institutional factors, you do have control over the choices that you make and how you respond to situations. Make a choice. Make a decision. Do something about it.
Reach out for Therapy for Physician Burnout
Learn tools and skills to overcome physician burnout Start your journey to overcome physician burnout with Chris Rabanera. Get started with a free 15-minute consultation. Offering online therapy in California, online therapy in Michigan, online therapy in Nebraska, and online therapy in Las Vegas, I specialize in addressing physician burnout, grief counseling, anxiety, depression, and providing tailored mental health treatment for men. Let’s get to work to make lasting positive change.
