"Exceptionally striking is the statistic that burnout in female physicians may be up to 60% greater than that of male physicians, with women scoring higher for emotional exhaustion and men scoring higher for depersonalization."
Reflect on your risk factors for burnout identified by Yeluru, Newton, & Kapoor, R. (2022), such as:
- Unequal pay
- Lack of mentorship
- Limited leadership opportunities
- Time constraints
- Increased household responsibilities relative to male counterparts
- Increased childcare responsibilities relative to male counterparts
- Childbearing
- Increased maternal age
- Mental health
Consider the remedies they suggest.
What's missing from the list that would improve your work-life balance?
Consider how you and your colleagues can work alongside the medical group to turn these remedies into realities.
No one benefits if you are experiencing burnout. Not you, your loved ones, your patients, nor the medical group.
Call to action:
This may feel daunting at first, so start with:
- One conversation with a colleague.
- One email to a supervisor.
- One review of your institution's current policies.
- One plan for next steps.
Reference:
Yeluru, H., Newton, H. L., & Kapoor, R. (2022). Physician burnout through the female lens: a silent crisis. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 880061. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.880061/full