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A national study of physicians presented in JAMA Network Open found actions, such as changing schedules or taking a vacation, were associated with substantial improvements in burnout or professional fulfillment. Physicians completed a burnout/professional fulfillment survey, and 6 months later, completed the same survey again. The researchers identified 87 physicians out of the 359 participants whose scores happened to improve substantially during those 6 months (24.3%). Of those physicians, 30 agreed to follow-up interviews. During the interviews, researchers essentially asked what had changed during those 6 months and found most physicians (86.7%) attributed their improvement to intentional changes they made in their lives. Work-related strategies included reducing workload, modifying schedules, changing jobs or roles, delegating or outsourcing administrative responsibilities, improving workflow efficiency, and advocating for needed workplace changes. Personal strategies included exercise, meditation or breathing exercises, therapy or coaching, vacations or sabbaticals, strengthening relationships, and separating personal identity and self-worth from professional achievement. Nearly half (46.7%) reported they actively made personal changes, while 40% reported actively making work changes.
What works for you: There were no specific interventions tested or introduced in the study. Rather, it seems the authors sought to identify what worked in the real world to make physicians’ lives better. The authors concluded that reducing physician burnout may require a combination of individual actions by the physicians themselves as well as system-level workplace changes. Find your next urgent care career move by searching the geographic map of open positions on the new go-to career site UC Compass.