WHAT’S YOUR NEXT MOVE?
Career Transition CESAR VAZQUEZ, MD
One of our medical societies’ ongoing themes and that of many other healthcare organizations across the state has been physician wellness and burnout. Many of us have heard or read the statistics. For example, the Medscape national burnout study showed that 42% of physicians report burnout. Over the next 10 years, 25% of physicians are expected to retire and the number of older Americans requiring healthcare is expected to double by 2040. They project a shortage of 100,000 physicians by 2030, which will result in even more burn out impacting physicians and their patients. Recognizing this important dilemma, the CMA has partnered with Dr. Tait Shanafelt from Stanford to launch wellness programs that are available to students, residents and practicing physicians in order to address this problem. Dr. Shanafelt and his team from the Mayo Clinic have overseen multiple national surveys that included more than 30,000 US physicians. These found increasing rates of burnout among doctors; in 2014, more than half of those surveyed were
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CENTRAL VALLEY PHYSICIANS
suffering from emotional exhaustion, loss of meaning in work or a sense of ineffectiveness and a lack of engagement with patients. Moreover, his studies have found that as physicians suffer, so do patients—burnout has been found to contribute to physician errors, higher mortality among hospitalized patients and less compassionate care. It is a trend, he said, that is “eroding the soul of medicine.” Rather than focusing on the root causes of burnout, I believe the bigger issue is addressing how physicians can take action and find alternative career solutions that match their skills and interests. More importantly, are we missing key opportunities to help doctors make a successful career transition perhaps into non-clinical roles, if that is what they are looking for? Some doctors want more tangible solutions that will help with a career pivot that does not require a lengthy process and potential loss of income. This requires an honest appraisal of our core skills to evaluate opportunities beyond the clinical realm. Like our Stanford neighbors, I am proud of FMMS
Spring 2019