Physician burnout is a growing problem in the medial community. The long hours and mountains of stress can take a huge toll on physicians. Common symptoms of physician burnout include, fatigue, feelings of anxiety, and depression. Luckily, there a number of ways a practice can help reduce burnout
Offer Flexible Working Arrangements
One of the major factors contributing to physician burnout is long work hours. According to findings by the American Medical Foundation, when physicians have constraining hours they tend over work themselves to achieve a normal workload in less time. Physician stress can be reduced by offering more flexible hours. Giving physicians more flexibility will result in reduced stress and a better work life balance.
Promote Mental Health
By making mental health a priority, practices can help physicians identify and treat early signs of burnout. Approaches such as mental health training programs, mindfulness courses, and counseling have all been found to reduce feelings of emotional exhaustion and stress. The University of California Center for Mindfulness has found that Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs are effective in mitigating stress, reducing burnout, and improving empathy skills among medical professionals.
Reduce the Workload
One of the primary drivers of physician burnout is the sheer amount of paperwork and documentation physicians face every day. Utilizing scribes can take weight off the shoulders of physicians as they can offer personalized documentation and capture relevant information during patient interactions.
If you are starting to feel symptoms of burnout let us help! At Physician Assist we work to make physicians’ lives easier by offering highly skilled medical scribes. Virtual scribes can help reduce headache as they are financially cheaper, take less time to train, and are available 24/7.
Interested in learning how you can get set up with a scribe? Give us a called at 1-833-943-5753 or submit an injury!