A P R I L 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 1
Avoid Career Burnout
3 steps to improve your physical and mental wellbeing.
T
here are case volumes to maintain, revenues to maximize, sur-
geons to satisfy and patients to please — is it any wonder you
might feel a little stressed? Here are a few things you can do to
cope with the demands of your high-pressure job and avoid career
burnout.
Find your rhythm. Many life coaches
refer to this concept as finding a work-
life balance, but I like to call it finding your
"rhythm." Finding your rhythm is absolute-
ly essential to preventing and treating
burnout. It's very difficult to simply create
"time" or "balance" in your life; it's much
more practical to spend your energy
on creating focus, which requires
emphasizing quality over quanti-
ty. This takes energy and effort,
but it's doable. Limit distrac-
tions, be mindful of the task
at hand and focus your
energy on the receiver of
your attention, whether
that's a coworker,
patient, spouse or child.
When you're home, be
home. That might sound
unrealistic, especially if you
can't avoid working at night,
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Staffing
Jeffrey M. Smith, MD