Dear Colleagues:
The only certainty in health care today is that it is changing at a breathtaking pace, and less and less of our time is spent doing what we were actually trained to do: take care of patients. Please try to do everything possible to always remember why we went to medical school in the first place, and to maintain focus on the aspects of our work that brings each of us the most personal satisfaction.
Here are ten rules for frontline physician sanity written by internist and author Dr. Suneel Dhand (but abridged by me).
- Clearly separate clinical from bureaucratic work.
- Try to have a clear separation between the direct clinical work and administrative duties.
- Don’t be afraid to tell any administrator (including me) to text or email you with any issues, but not to call or page you while you are seeing patients.
- Try to spend as much time as possible with patients.
- Have an acute awareness of the time you are spending at your screen.
- Try to view the computer as the tool it’s supposed to be not as the main focus of your whole job as a doctor. (This will be challenged by our EPIC transition in December.)
- Work out the computer shortcuts.
- They can significantly speed up your workflow. Spend time familiarizing yourself with these and document the minimum amount necessary for good clinical care and other necessary bureaucratic requirements – also critical in our EPIC transition.
- Take regular breaks.
- Docs are nearly always running behind. Be strict with yourself about taking regular breaks, even if they are very short.
- Clear your mind at every opportunity.
- Try to eat regular healthy snacks during your day.
- Make friends with those you work with.
- Any job is a whole lot better if you get to know, and ideally befriend, those around you – not just colleagues – but also nursing and ancillary staff.
- Empower yourself to improve the system.
- Change happens one small step at a time. Have you noticed a glitch in a process, a problem with patient care, or a glaring safety gap? PLEASE give feedback!
- Your input is critical to our improvement and journey to high reliability!
- Take everyday frustrations in stride.
- No health care system in the world is perfect. You cannot avoid daily frustrations. While they may occasionally get you down, if they are repeating themselves each and every day, is there a better way you can handle them?
- Try to be as on schedule as possible.
- It’s important to try to be as organized and strict with time as possible.
- You need a good work-life balance – structure your day around trying to finish at a reasonable time.
- Have some great hobbies and lead a healthy lifestyle outside your practice.
- DO something that truly relaxes you and gets you “away from it all.”
- For peak well-being, you should always strive for great physical health.
- Always have a long-term plan.
- It’s no secret there’s an epidemic of physician burnout and job dissatisfaction out there that’s directly linked to the monumental loss of control and autonomy in our profession.
- Never forget that the practice of medicine is the noblest of professions and that it is a privilege to heal.
All the above is, of course easy to read, but difficult to do….Best Wishes for the Happiest of Doctors’ Days, Friday, March 30, 2018!
Sincerely,
