Rebuilding a sense of connection is essential for hospitalists feeling burnout, suggested a couple of speakers at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2016 annual meeting.
“Burnout is characterized in part by loss of connection to a sense of engagement or meaning in your work,” said Denah Joseph, from the University of California at San Francisco, who presented the strategies with her colleague Steven Pantilat, M.D., professor of clinical medicine and director of the palliative-care program.
“Taking time to reflect on what being a hospitalist means to you or practicing reflective writing can help you reconnect, Joseph explained, as can taking a moment for meditation to be aware of your surroundings and listen to the sounds of your breathing,” Medscape reported,
“Reconnecting doesn’t have to take time out of your day, Ms. Joseph pointed out. It can be something you do while washing your hands between patients, for instance, or while walking your dog.”
Then there is “appreciative inquiry”: Asking a colleague to exchange ideas on what both of you find meaningful and positive about your work, Dr. Pantilat said.
He added that health systems can help by building provider stress reduction into systemwide goals. In fact, he reported, “there’s a system now looking at tying executive compensation to provider well being.”
