Serving Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Galveston Counties
HOUSTON
Volume 11 | Issue 10
Inside This Issue
October Edition 2021
Health Professionals Experience Burnout Amid the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic By Jon Stevens, MD, MPH, Vice President of Growth and Innovation, Medical Director of Outpatient Services at The Menninger Clinic
MD Anderson Launches Community-Led Be Well Acres Homes Initiative See pg. 8
INDEX Legal Matters........................ pg.3 Oncology Research......... pg.4 Mental Health...................... pg.5 Healthy Heart....................... pg.7 Financial Forecast.............pg.11
Aging and Living Well See pg. 12
F
or more than a year and half, the COVID-19 pandemic has put an enormous amount of stress on physicians, nurses, and hospital staff on the front lines of battling a virus that has hospitalized millions and resulted in more than 680,000 deaths nationwide (including 62,000 Texans). In a survey of over 20,000 physicians by the American Medical Association in July, nearly half said they were experiencing occupational-related distress symptoms commonly referred to as “burnout.” While burnout is not a recognized mental health disorder, it can be conceptualized as a “kissing cousin” to one. Burnout is included in the most recent revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. Burnout refers to a feeling of physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion due to repeated stress caused by either spending long hours at work or trying to multitask and handle
too many things at once. Burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic
longer do your job in an effective way • Specifically for physicians losing compassion towards patients in your care You can also ask yourself the following questions if you think you’re experiencing burnout: • Is it hard to concentrate while at work? • Have I become impatient with my patients and colleagues? • Am I not feeling as satisfied with my work accomplishments? • Do I no longer feel like I have the energy to be a productive clinician? While it can be normal to have feelings of frustration, anxiety, stress, or even anger at some point on the job, the relentless challenge of COVID-19 has amplified these “normal” feelings for physicians and all medical personnel on the front lines. The health profession in particular, is already prone to burnout. As physicians, we work in an environment of independence and self-reliance, so it is common to avoid showing signs of weakness because our constant focus is
Signs of burnout include: • Frequently feelings of dread about your job • Feeling as though you can no longer do your job in an effective way • Specifically for physicians losing compassion towards patients in your care workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is important to note that everyday life stressors and burnout are not the same. Feeling stressed is usually for a specific and short amount of time while working towards a goal or solving a problem When the stress begins to feel like it is ongoing, persistent, and causing you to feel as though hope is lost, then you could be experiencing burnout. Signs of burnout include: • Frequently feelings of dread about your job • Feeling as though you can no
see Burnout...page 14
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