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COVID-19 Stress and Physician Burnout - The Case Against Altruism

A recent article in the CMAJ exhorts doctors to "Emphasize the altruism of working in health care and serving of the greater good" in order to reconnect with purpose and make it through COVID-19.

I disagree and I am not alone. 

ALTRUISM and the HERO and SAINT PROJECTION onto healthcare workers in impossible working conditions, is dangerous and self defeating.

In this blog post let's examine the case against Altruism as a healthy core value in pandemic times.

When the battle against the virus is raging in the ER and the ICU ...

It's all hands on deck
All power to the shields
Throw everything you've got to the front lines

And rightfully so.

That is not enough!

Staffing and supporting the front line care teams is job #1 everywhere and
we can't forget the members of those care teams who are not here today. 

I am not talking about the workers who are simply off shift right now. Let me show you this physician leadership blind spot.

Micro Blessings

Let's restore some balance to the force with a hidden super power that is just a breath away.

Since everyone's days are sprinkled with micro-aggressions, hassles, social isolation, masks, political conflict and more - it can feel like you are only just barely keeping your lips above the floodwaters. 

It's been a tough year for all of us and there is no end in sight
... AND ...
do not forget you have a choice. In every moment you have the ability to notice the negative, release it and swim against that current. 

Our reticular activating system and our physician programming give us a natural laser focus on what is going wrong. We are also surrounded by things going right at the very same time.

Stop physician burnout - understand the six levels of integration between your life and your practice

• You are Not Your Practice.
• Your Practice is Not You.
• You are in a Relationship - an intricate dance with a long and dysfunctional history.

When you recognize the nature of your relationship with your practice - and begin to actively manage it - physician burnout becomes far less likely. 

Many physicians are FUSED with their practice.

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Tragically this learned behavior puts you, your career and your family at risk.

Physician Leadership - Trust vs. Performance on your Teams

Looking to build a high performing team?
Will it have physicians on it?
Let me show you a simple way to build a better team and understand the team's performance - good, bad and ugly.

Here is a video by leadership expert Simon Sinek that reveals how a military elite team picks its members - the Navy Seals. I believe the simple two-part lesson in this video is key to understanding physician behavior on teams as well. 

He asked the question:

"How do you choose people that go on Seal Team 6?"

Can a wearable medical device diagnose physician burnout in real time?

Seems like a legitimate question right? And a wearable device is so much more scientific, high tech and sexy than your attending asking you how you are doing today ... right? 

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine are getting ready to start a trial with a wristband wearable medical device - to see if it can diagnose burnout in internal medicine residents. 

Let's lift up the hood and examine the details of this study protocol released this week. Does it make sense? Could it make a difference?

Several times a month reporters and writers ask me questions about physician burnout. 

Many times they are the same questions -  natural, logical, seemingly simple questions about burnout in physicians.

It does make sense that they would ask me in particular. I have ten years, 175 organizations and over 40,000 doctors experience in coaching and training people to recognize and prevent physician burnout.

With that background many reporters think I can rattle off the answers in a way that wraps a bow on the whole issue.  They don't understand two key points.