One Day at a Time
The Burnout Is Real: Advice for Health Care Workers
Daily insights on life in the face of uncertainty, by psychiatrist and habit change specialist Dr. Jud Brewer
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, we faced a growing epidemic of burnout and anxiety among doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. That strain is unfortunately only going to get worse with the new demands on our health care system. But there is hope based on new research that health care professionals (and all of us) can put into practice today.
Have you ever seen a doctor in a movie or on television taking a break from the emergency room to use the bathroom? I haven’t. While TV isn’t reality, there is a lot of truth to this representation. When my classmates and I took our Hippocratic oath in medical school to “first do no harm” and we put on our white coats for the very first time, we were also silently agreeing to shoulder the responsibility to put others first. This necessary promise makes a lot of sense, not just for doctors or health care providers, but for all of us. In the face of danger, parents will literally sacrifice themselves for their children. Historically, martyrs have been praised and respected rather than reviled.
As humans, if we…
