7 Ways Physicians Can Reignite Their Passion for Medicine
Physicians typically enter the medical profession to make a difference in people’s lives. They set out in their first physician job with excitement, great expectations and the best of intentions.
Then reality sets in and they are forced to:
- Deal with insurance companies and regulatory agencies
- Interact with electronic medical records
- Juggle difficult cases, patients and schedules
- Manage the hassles of running a business – or the tensions that come from an employment situation
Tom Davis MD FAAFO, principal of Tom Davis Consulting in St Louis, said the change to a business-like model of healthcare, with clinicians being treated like assembly-line workers, contributes to burnout. He indicated that physicians have three options: learn to adjust, change positions or quit clinical medicine.
7 tips to rekindle your love of medicine
1. Figure Out What Makes You Happy
Focus on what aspects of the practice of medicine bring satisfaction. That might be making a difficult diagnosis or a rewarding patient experience.
Simply looking for what one enjoys and brings satisfaction sets up a positive expectation. For some people, making connections is important and will lead toward the physician having a more positive day.
2. Stay in the present
Self-care, mindfulness, emotional awareness and self-reflection are important aspects of physician well-being, according to The Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine, as noted in the Charter on Physician Well-being, published in March 2018 in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA).
3. Change your stress response
Physicians need to figure out what feeds their soul, and what causes stress. A physician may not be able to avoid stress associated with practicing medicine, but he or she can change how they respond to it, Hambley said. “Forming a new way of thinking can happen at any age.”
4. Learn to say “No”
Physicians might be able to limit their commitments at work by learning to say “no.” At least some of the time.
Davis offered three recommendations:
- Don't try to take care of too many patients
- Never work at home
- Find joy outside of the office or other practice setting
5. Stay healthy
The Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine also cites the importance of healthy choices, including eating nutritious and healthy foods and exercising.
6. Identify intrinsic motivations
Physician motivation can vary depending on one’s career stage, according to a paper by Ratanawongsa and colleagues. Extrinsic factors, such as salary or working conditions, do not lead to long-term satisfaction.
“Career resilience requires that physicians reflect on and define the sources of their own intrinsic motivation,” the authors wrote. Intrinsic factors include self-expression, self-efficacy and altruism
7. Consider alternatives
If a physician’s current position cannot be modified to overcome dissatisfaction, it may be time to find a different physician job. Alternatives worth considering, according to Davis, include switching to consulting, expert witnessing or other nonclinical work.
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