Burnout: The Elephant in the Room
Burnout: The Elephant in the Room
November 1, 2019
In this episode, Doctors Agboola, Chung, Kurtz, and Doty discuss the topic of “The Elephant in the Room: ‘Burnout’”. They spend time discussing: Defining the term of burnout, How to recognize symptoms of burnout in others, Getting past the platitudes of “yoga & exercise”, Moral injury, The Unspoken Curriculum, and Models of Wellness.
Host
Isaac Agboola, MD, MS
Yale New Haven Medical Center
PGY3
EMRA*Cast Episodes
Guests
Arlene S. Chung, MD, MACM, FACEP
University of Vermont
Vice Chair of Academic Affairs/Professor of Emergency Medicine
CORD Board of Directors
NY-ACEP Board of Directors
EMRA Articles
Christopher Doty, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
Former Program Director and Vice Chair for Education and Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and University of Kentucky-Chandler Medical Center
Residency: SUNY Downstate and Kings County Hospital
Medical school: Thomas Jefferson University
Twitter: @PoppasPearls
Alicia Kurtz, MD
Emergency Physician and Assistant Medical Director at Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Fellowship: Management and Administrative Fellowship, Vituity
Residency: UCSF - Fresno
Medical School: Loyola University Chicago
Twitter: @aliciakurtz_md
Overview
In this episode, Doctors Agboola, Chung, Kurtz, and Doty discuss the topic of “The Elephant in the Room: ‘Burnout’”. They spend time discussing: Defining the term of burnout, How to recognize symptoms of burnout in others, Getting past the platitudes of “yoga & exercise”, Moral injury, The Unspoken Curriculum, and Models of Wellness.
Key Resources
EMRA Wellness CommitteeKey Points:
- “Adversity is coming for all of us”
- We operate in a specialty that lends itself to “burnout”
- Moral Injury is better terminology to use than burnout because “burnout” puts the impetus on the individual rather than on the system that causes it
- It’s critical to find an outlet, whether that be in the curriculum of your program or elsewhere through modalities online.
- Online modalities such as these include Airway Stories and Real Talk
- “Burnout” ≄ Depression
- Recognizing burnout is often difficult because each person manifests it in different ways. Look for acute changes in a person’s behavior or mood.
- “Burnout” is a moving target, there are a variety of different ways to approach it
