4 helpful strategies for tackling burnout
Make a start on taking on burnout and its pervasiveness in the healthcare profession
- Burnout is a growing threat to doctors’ wellbeing.
- Burnout is a result of unabating workplace stress and does not reflect the resilience or character of the person affected. It is not a character flaw; it is simply information about what the individual’s nervous system needs.
- Specific strategies can help doctors reduce the impact of burnout. These include ensuring a regular restorative activity in the weekly schedule and establishing and maintaining boundaries by discussing expectations up front and calibrating them against the limits of what is possible.
- Black Dog Institute recently launched a free Navigating Burnout program as part of its mental health service for healthcare professionals: The Essential Network.
It is tempting to think that the surge in doctors experiencing burnout is due to the added strain of the COVID-19 pandemic.