Lifestyle

BURNOUT & SATISFACTON WORK-LIFE BALANCE, STANFORD SUPPLYING STRESSED-OUT DOCTORS

MEALS, HOUSE CLEANING, LIFE COACH


(Source: © Ruby BIRD & Yasmina BEDDOU)
(Source: © Ruby BIRD & Yasmina BEDDOU)
USPA NEWS - It started with a Hospital Stanford Plan to save doctors from burnout. Stanford is not the only medical institution seeking to change an unforgiving culture that has traditionally rewarded long work hours...
It started with a Hospital Stanford Plan to save doctors from burnout. Stanford is not the only medical institution seeking to change an unforgiving culture that has traditionally rewarded long work hours. But most are aimed at medical students, where wellness programs are now required for accreditation. JAMA Internal medecine undertook an investigation among US physicians relative to the General US population.

Despite extensive data about physician burnout, no national study has evaluated rates of burnout among US physicians, explored differences by specialty, or compared physicians with US workers in other fields. So, they conducted a national study of burnout in a large sample of US physicians from all specialty disciplines of the general U.S. Association Physician Masterfile and surveyed a probability-based sample of the general U.S. population for comparison. Burnout was measured using validated instruments. Satisfaction with work-life balance was explored.
The meals, house cleaning and a host of other services (babysitting, elder care, movie tickets, grant writing help, handyman services, dry cleaning pickup, speech training. Web support and more) are part of a groundbreaking new "time banking" program aimed to ease work-life conflicts for the emergency medicine faculty. (washington Post)

37,9 % of U.S. physicians had high emotional exhaustion, 29,4% had high depersonalization, 12,4 % had a low sense of personal accomplishment.
In aggregate, 45,8% of physicians were considered to be experiencing at least one symptom of burnout based on a high emotional exhaustion score or a high depersonalization score. Approximately half (48,2%) of the physicians thought their work schedule left enough time for personal or family life, with 14,4% responding neutral and the remaining 36,9% disagreeing with this assertion. (JAMA)

Now, doctors can rest assured that when they pick up a last-minute shift or stay late mentoring a student, they'll reap the rewards by coming home to a pre-prepared meal or a freshly cleaned house. Other perks include Task Rabbit service, laundry service, access to life coaches, and even help with website development.
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