Abstract
Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment occurring in health care professionals in response to chronic work-related stress. Up to 60% of practicing physicians may experience burnout at any given time. Contributory factors include excessive workload, effort–reward imbalance, lack of control, and loss of meaning, among others. Burnout onset is insidious and often recognized late. In this chapter, strategies for burnout prevention pertaining to individuals, institutions, and professional organizations are discussed. Broad culture changes are necessary in order to address this epidemic that threatens the vitality of health care and academic medicine and, ultimately, affects our patients.
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Appendix
Appendix
The Emotional Equation
Values
Write down your three most important values.
Strengths
Write down three of your strengths.
Behaviors
Write down three behaviors which show that you “walk the walk” (practice your values).
Challenges
Write down three things that you strongly dislike about your current work situation.
Emotional Equation
Review the positives and the negatives.
Make a Commitment
Write down one thing you will change in your work situation.
Next, start planning how you will accomplish this change.
Ask Your Mentor or Colleagues
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What is my most meaningful professional activity, and do I spend at least 1 day a week doing it?
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What can I (am I willing to) give up in order to spend more time on this activity?
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How can I negotiate this change with my chair (division chief, dean)?
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If I am not successful in negotiating this change, what can I learn from this experience?
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Seritan, A.L. (2013). How to Recognize and Avoid Burnout. In: Roberts, L. (eds) The Academic Medicine Handbook. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5693-3_54
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5693-3_54
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