User login
The SVS is working for you on burnout
Following a series of Vascular Specialist pieces highlighting the crisis of surgeon burnout and the unique challenges that face vascular surgeons, the SVS Wellness Task Force was formed in 2017. Recognizing that burnout may compromise recruitment and retention into our specialty, a particular threat at a time when our specialty faces projected increasing physician workforce needs, and that data suggests physician burnout compromises both patient quality of care and overall satisfaction, the task force was charged with proactively addressing vascular surgeon burnout. Our task force, comprising 21 engaged SVS members from across the country, has been working with strong support from leadership and administration to identify potential SVS targets for meaningful change.
The year 2018 was one of information gathering as we attempted clarify the severity of the problem and perceived member needs. We are grateful to our membership that have helped with this effort – for their time, for their insight, and for sharing their stories (some of which have been deeply personal). Two large-scale surveys were circulated to active SVS membership, both created with the assistance of the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Health Policy and Research.
The first survey was designed with a framework of validated wellness tools and well-described risk factors for burnout, then further “personalized” to incorporate unique challenges to the vascular surgeon. About 32% of our membership responded to this survey and alarmingly, when considering nonretired active SVS members, approximately one-third self-described depressive symptoms, 35% met criteria for burnout, and 8% self-reported suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months.
The second survey has only recently closed, focusing on the ergonomic challenges that we face across the spectrum of complex open and endovascular cases. Recognizing existing data that chronic pain and physical disability are associated with burnout, this data will be linked back to the original survey responses for association. Certainly there is more to come.
Concurrent with our survey initiatives, many of you participated in a Wellness Focus Group during VAM 2018. These focus groups intentionally considered the diversity of our membership across age, gender, practice setting, and region, revealing several important themes that threaten our wellness. It was no surprise that the EMR was identified as a clear threat to vascular surgery well-being and that this is not unique to our specialty. Importantly, our membership collectively feels “undervalued” at an institutional level. Specifically given the scope of comprehensive vascular care that we provide patients, a large part of our work includes both unpredictable acute vascular surgical care (such as intraoperative consultations for vascular trauma) and remedial salvage operations to manage vascular complications inflicted during care received from other physicians. This effort leaves us with little control over our time, often without perceived reciprocal clinical support, institutional support, or compensation.
Given this data, the Wellness Task Force is now strategizing efforts for change and supporting ongoing SVS initiatives. Our Task Force is currently:
- Collaborating with key EMR stakeholders with the goal of creating tools that can be shared across the specialty and addressing best practices for system-level support.
- Drafting a “public reply” to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s “Strategy on Reducing Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs” initiative.
- Collaborating with national experts to establish peer support tools and SVS networking opportunities that may help members cope with adverse outcomes and strategize the delivery of complex care.
- Identifying institutional best practices for surgeon wellness for broad dissemination.
- Supporting existing SVS initiatives that include the PAC/APM task force, branding initiatives through the PPO as we work to “own our space” and leverage our specialty and the community practice committee as the Society works proactively to optimize workload, fairness, and reward on a larger scale for membership.
We encourage everyone to stay tuned for periodic Vascular Specialist “Wellness Features” and to attend the Wellness Session at the 2019 VAM for interim progress that will feature the following discussions.
- (Re)Finding a meaningful career in vascular surgery.
- Ergonomic challenges to the vascular surgeon and strategies to mitigate the resulting threat of disability.
- EMR best practices to optimize efficiency.
- The role of peer support in vascular surgery, including the mitigation of second victim syndrome.
Surgeon burnout is a real threat to our workforce and the well-being of our colleagues and friends. Risk factors are multifactorial and will require broad, system-level change. The SVS remains fully committed to enhancing vascular surgeon wellness and this Task Force is grateful for your ongoing engagement and support.
Dr. Coleman is an associate professor of vascular surgery at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Following a series of Vascular Specialist pieces highlighting the crisis of surgeon burnout and the unique challenges that face vascular surgeons, the SVS Wellness Task Force was formed in 2017. Recognizing that burnout may compromise recruitment and retention into our specialty, a particular threat at a time when our specialty faces projected increasing physician workforce needs, and that data suggests physician burnout compromises both patient quality of care and overall satisfaction, the task force was charged with proactively addressing vascular surgeon burnout. Our task force, comprising 21 engaged SVS members from across the country, has been working with strong support from leadership and administration to identify potential SVS targets for meaningful change.
The year 2018 was one of information gathering as we attempted clarify the severity of the problem and perceived member needs. We are grateful to our membership that have helped with this effort – for their time, for their insight, and for sharing their stories (some of which have been deeply personal). Two large-scale surveys were circulated to active SVS membership, both created with the assistance of the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Health Policy and Research.
The first survey was designed with a framework of validated wellness tools and well-described risk factors for burnout, then further “personalized” to incorporate unique challenges to the vascular surgeon. About 32% of our membership responded to this survey and alarmingly, when considering nonretired active SVS members, approximately one-third self-described depressive symptoms, 35% met criteria for burnout, and 8% self-reported suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months.
The second survey has only recently closed, focusing on the ergonomic challenges that we face across the spectrum of complex open and endovascular cases. Recognizing existing data that chronic pain and physical disability are associated with burnout, this data will be linked back to the original survey responses for association. Certainly there is more to come.
Concurrent with our survey initiatives, many of you participated in a Wellness Focus Group during VAM 2018. These focus groups intentionally considered the diversity of our membership across age, gender, practice setting, and region, revealing several important themes that threaten our wellness. It was no surprise that the EMR was identified as a clear threat to vascular surgery well-being and that this is not unique to our specialty. Importantly, our membership collectively feels “undervalued” at an institutional level. Specifically given the scope of comprehensive vascular care that we provide patients, a large part of our work includes both unpredictable acute vascular surgical care (such as intraoperative consultations for vascular trauma) and remedial salvage operations to manage vascular complications inflicted during care received from other physicians. This effort leaves us with little control over our time, often without perceived reciprocal clinical support, institutional support, or compensation.
Given this data, the Wellness Task Force is now strategizing efforts for change and supporting ongoing SVS initiatives. Our Task Force is currently:
- Collaborating with key EMR stakeholders with the goal of creating tools that can be shared across the specialty and addressing best practices for system-level support.
- Drafting a “public reply” to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s “Strategy on Reducing Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs” initiative.
- Collaborating with national experts to establish peer support tools and SVS networking opportunities that may help members cope with adverse outcomes and strategize the delivery of complex care.
- Identifying institutional best practices for surgeon wellness for broad dissemination.
- Supporting existing SVS initiatives that include the PAC/APM task force, branding initiatives through the PPO as we work to “own our space” and leverage our specialty and the community practice committee as the Society works proactively to optimize workload, fairness, and reward on a larger scale for membership.
We encourage everyone to stay tuned for periodic Vascular Specialist “Wellness Features” and to attend the Wellness Session at the 2019 VAM for interim progress that will feature the following discussions.
- (Re)Finding a meaningful career in vascular surgery.
- Ergonomic challenges to the vascular surgeon and strategies to mitigate the resulting threat of disability.
- EMR best practices to optimize efficiency.
- The role of peer support in vascular surgery, including the mitigation of second victim syndrome.
Surgeon burnout is a real threat to our workforce and the well-being of our colleagues and friends. Risk factors are multifactorial and will require broad, system-level change. The SVS remains fully committed to enhancing vascular surgeon wellness and this Task Force is grateful for your ongoing engagement and support.
Dr. Coleman is an associate professor of vascular surgery at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Following a series of Vascular Specialist pieces highlighting the crisis of surgeon burnout and the unique challenges that face vascular surgeons, the SVS Wellness Task Force was formed in 2017. Recognizing that burnout may compromise recruitment and retention into our specialty, a particular threat at a time when our specialty faces projected increasing physician workforce needs, and that data suggests physician burnout compromises both patient quality of care and overall satisfaction, the task force was charged with proactively addressing vascular surgeon burnout. Our task force, comprising 21 engaged SVS members from across the country, has been working with strong support from leadership and administration to identify potential SVS targets for meaningful change.
The year 2018 was one of information gathering as we attempted clarify the severity of the problem and perceived member needs. We are grateful to our membership that have helped with this effort – for their time, for their insight, and for sharing their stories (some of which have been deeply personal). Two large-scale surveys were circulated to active SVS membership, both created with the assistance of the Mayo Clinic’s Division of Health Policy and Research.
The first survey was designed with a framework of validated wellness tools and well-described risk factors for burnout, then further “personalized” to incorporate unique challenges to the vascular surgeon. About 32% of our membership responded to this survey and alarmingly, when considering nonretired active SVS members, approximately one-third self-described depressive symptoms, 35% met criteria for burnout, and 8% self-reported suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months.
The second survey has only recently closed, focusing on the ergonomic challenges that we face across the spectrum of complex open and endovascular cases. Recognizing existing data that chronic pain and physical disability are associated with burnout, this data will be linked back to the original survey responses for association. Certainly there is more to come.
Concurrent with our survey initiatives, many of you participated in a Wellness Focus Group during VAM 2018. These focus groups intentionally considered the diversity of our membership across age, gender, practice setting, and region, revealing several important themes that threaten our wellness. It was no surprise that the EMR was identified as a clear threat to vascular surgery well-being and that this is not unique to our specialty. Importantly, our membership collectively feels “undervalued” at an institutional level. Specifically given the scope of comprehensive vascular care that we provide patients, a large part of our work includes both unpredictable acute vascular surgical care (such as intraoperative consultations for vascular trauma) and remedial salvage operations to manage vascular complications inflicted during care received from other physicians. This effort leaves us with little control over our time, often without perceived reciprocal clinical support, institutional support, or compensation.
Given this data, the Wellness Task Force is now strategizing efforts for change and supporting ongoing SVS initiatives. Our Task Force is currently:
- Collaborating with key EMR stakeholders with the goal of creating tools that can be shared across the specialty and addressing best practices for system-level support.
- Drafting a “public reply” to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s “Strategy on Reducing Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs” initiative.
- Collaborating with national experts to establish peer support tools and SVS networking opportunities that may help members cope with adverse outcomes and strategize the delivery of complex care.
- Identifying institutional best practices for surgeon wellness for broad dissemination.
- Supporting existing SVS initiatives that include the PAC/APM task force, branding initiatives through the PPO as we work to “own our space” and leverage our specialty and the community practice committee as the Society works proactively to optimize workload, fairness, and reward on a larger scale for membership.
We encourage everyone to stay tuned for periodic Vascular Specialist “Wellness Features” and to attend the Wellness Session at the 2019 VAM for interim progress that will feature the following discussions.
- (Re)Finding a meaningful career in vascular surgery.
- Ergonomic challenges to the vascular surgeon and strategies to mitigate the resulting threat of disability.
- EMR best practices to optimize efficiency.
- The role of peer support in vascular surgery, including the mitigation of second victim syndrome.
Surgeon burnout is a real threat to our workforce and the well-being of our colleagues and friends. Risk factors are multifactorial and will require broad, system-level change. The SVS remains fully committed to enhancing vascular surgeon wellness and this Task Force is grateful for your ongoing engagement and support.
Dr. Coleman is an associate professor of vascular surgery at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
SPECIAL REPORT: SVS Takes Aim at Addressing Physician Burnout, Wellness
In my editorial in the November issue of Vascular Specialist I asked the question: Are we ok? I received many responses from members and I think the collective answer is best characterized as …maybe. Like nearly every other physician, I have witnessed the effects of burnout for my entire career. After high school, I enrolled in a BA/MD program with about 60 other students. Nearly half never matriculated. After medical school, I began a general surgery residency with seven other categorical interns. Six of them quit in the first year. What we now call burnout was once thought of as a process for weeding out those who could not “hack” it. Those students were not fit to be doctors; those interns were not fit to be surgeons. The process worked. Or so we thought.
The epidemic of physician burnout has raised alarm in many healthcare organizations. This mental state, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, has adverse consequences for both patient and clinician. The statistics are sobering. More than half of physicians, by self-report, have symptoms of burnout. No clinician is immune. Significant numbers of nurses and residents are similarly affected. The trend is worrisome. Compared to 2011, the percentage of physicians with burnout symptoms has increased, and the percentage satisfied with their work/life balance has decreased. Burnout affects physicians across all specialties, but the picture is particularly grim for surgeons, and even a bit more so for vascular surgeons. Compared with 13 other surgical specialties, vascular surgeons report the second highest rate of burnout. They also report the lowest level of career satisfaction, ranked first in stating they may have chosen an alternate career if they could choose again, and first in recommending an alternate career to medicine to their children.
In light of these sobering data, it must become an increasing concern of SVS as our professional home, as well as APDVS, as the professional home for Program Directors in Vascular Surgery, when almost a third of vascular surgeons report depression, and when compared to other surgical specialties, the highest incidence of suicidal ideation occurs in our own colleagues. Perhaps most importantly, 70 percent of physicians who score in the lower third on the Physician Well-Being Index report their well-being as average or above average. So relying on introspection offers limited hope.
Burnout is also a patient care-quality issue. Patients who are cared for by clinicians suffering from burnout do not fare well. A burned-out physician may appear to colleagues as frustrated, cynical and even callous, and to his or her patients as lacking empathy and compassion. Only 53 percent of patients, when surveyed, believe the health care system provides compassionate care. Diabetic patients of physicians with high empathy scores had improved control of HbA1c, fewer hospitalizations and fewer serious complications. Similarly, those with cancer had improved psychological adjustment, decreased ICU utilization and an improved immune response.
What does this landscape look like to those starting their medical careers – our future vascular surgeons? As a rule, students enter medical school altruistic and idealistic, excited about becoming a doctor, empathic and eager to care for their future patients. What follows is a decline in compassion, a crucial ingredient to mitigate burnout. Their curriculum focuses on emotional detachment and affective distancing for the purpose of clinical neutrality. Twenty percent of medical school graduates reported that they experienced disconnects between what they were taught about professional behaviors and attitudes and what they saw demonstrated by their faculty. Empathy is further eroded as residents experience “time-constrained” patient interactions in the clinic, the emergency department and the operating room. They often work with frustrated and overwhelmed faculty members who are experiencing increased pressure to generate greater clinical revenue and struggle with non-intuitive electronic medical record systems.
By almost any metric, vascular surgeons’ work is stressful. They work long hours, spend considerable hours in the operating room (average 20 hours a week) and average 2.7 nights of call a week. The vascular surgery workforce needs to continue to increase in light of the aging population that generally is sicker, yet demanding of more active lives. The demand will not be met without improving the health of our workforce.
Burnout also leads to early retirement. And burnout predicts the future. Each one-point change on the emotional exhaustion burnout scale is associated with a 43 percent higher likelihood that the affected physicians will reduce their FTE over the ensuing 24 months. Compounding supply further are the issues at the front end. An alarming 69 percent of U.S. general surgery trainees meet the criteria for burnout, and 44 percent of the 753 general surgery residents sampled considered dropping out of their training program; an even greater proportion considered doing so if they had symptoms of burnout. Women in training were at a higher risk of burnout compared to men. Although a study of burnout and job satisfaction in members of the American College of Surgeons found that private-practice surgeons were more likely to experience burnout than surgeons practicing in academic settings, Elmore et. al. observed that residents who planned to enter private practice reported higher levels of burnout.
In summary, burnout out is real and is impacting the health, well-being, and careers of vascular surgeons. Burnout places both the surgeon and the patient at risk for a poor outcome. Burnout influences medical student and resident career choices. Burnout can no longer be ignored – doing nothing is not an option.
Can the Society of Vascular Surgery do anything to improve the well-being of its members? We will begin that discussion next month.
*The authors extend their thanks and appreciation for the guidance, resources and support of Michael Goldberg, M.D., Scholar in Residence, Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care, Boston, Mass., and Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at Seattle Children’s Hospital..
In my editorial in the November issue of Vascular Specialist I asked the question: Are we ok? I received many responses from members and I think the collective answer is best characterized as …maybe. Like nearly every other physician, I have witnessed the effects of burnout for my entire career. After high school, I enrolled in a BA/MD program with about 60 other students. Nearly half never matriculated. After medical school, I began a general surgery residency with seven other categorical interns. Six of them quit in the first year. What we now call burnout was once thought of as a process for weeding out those who could not “hack” it. Those students were not fit to be doctors; those interns were not fit to be surgeons. The process worked. Or so we thought.
The epidemic of physician burnout has raised alarm in many healthcare organizations. This mental state, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, has adverse consequences for both patient and clinician. The statistics are sobering. More than half of physicians, by self-report, have symptoms of burnout. No clinician is immune. Significant numbers of nurses and residents are similarly affected. The trend is worrisome. Compared to 2011, the percentage of physicians with burnout symptoms has increased, and the percentage satisfied with their work/life balance has decreased. Burnout affects physicians across all specialties, but the picture is particularly grim for surgeons, and even a bit more so for vascular surgeons. Compared with 13 other surgical specialties, vascular surgeons report the second highest rate of burnout. They also report the lowest level of career satisfaction, ranked first in stating they may have chosen an alternate career if they could choose again, and first in recommending an alternate career to medicine to their children.
In light of these sobering data, it must become an increasing concern of SVS as our professional home, as well as APDVS, as the professional home for Program Directors in Vascular Surgery, when almost a third of vascular surgeons report depression, and when compared to other surgical specialties, the highest incidence of suicidal ideation occurs in our own colleagues. Perhaps most importantly, 70 percent of physicians who score in the lower third on the Physician Well-Being Index report their well-being as average or above average. So relying on introspection offers limited hope.
Burnout is also a patient care-quality issue. Patients who are cared for by clinicians suffering from burnout do not fare well. A burned-out physician may appear to colleagues as frustrated, cynical and even callous, and to his or her patients as lacking empathy and compassion. Only 53 percent of patients, when surveyed, believe the health care system provides compassionate care. Diabetic patients of physicians with high empathy scores had improved control of HbA1c, fewer hospitalizations and fewer serious complications. Similarly, those with cancer had improved psychological adjustment, decreased ICU utilization and an improved immune response.
What does this landscape look like to those starting their medical careers – our future vascular surgeons? As a rule, students enter medical school altruistic and idealistic, excited about becoming a doctor, empathic and eager to care for their future patients. What follows is a decline in compassion, a crucial ingredient to mitigate burnout. Their curriculum focuses on emotional detachment and affective distancing for the purpose of clinical neutrality. Twenty percent of medical school graduates reported that they experienced disconnects between what they were taught about professional behaviors and attitudes and what they saw demonstrated by their faculty. Empathy is further eroded as residents experience “time-constrained” patient interactions in the clinic, the emergency department and the operating room. They often work with frustrated and overwhelmed faculty members who are experiencing increased pressure to generate greater clinical revenue and struggle with non-intuitive electronic medical record systems.
By almost any metric, vascular surgeons’ work is stressful. They work long hours, spend considerable hours in the operating room (average 20 hours a week) and average 2.7 nights of call a week. The vascular surgery workforce needs to continue to increase in light of the aging population that generally is sicker, yet demanding of more active lives. The demand will not be met without improving the health of our workforce.
Burnout also leads to early retirement. And burnout predicts the future. Each one-point change on the emotional exhaustion burnout scale is associated with a 43 percent higher likelihood that the affected physicians will reduce their FTE over the ensuing 24 months. Compounding supply further are the issues at the front end. An alarming 69 percent of U.S. general surgery trainees meet the criteria for burnout, and 44 percent of the 753 general surgery residents sampled considered dropping out of their training program; an even greater proportion considered doing so if they had symptoms of burnout. Women in training were at a higher risk of burnout compared to men. Although a study of burnout and job satisfaction in members of the American College of Surgeons found that private-practice surgeons were more likely to experience burnout than surgeons practicing in academic settings, Elmore et. al. observed that residents who planned to enter private practice reported higher levels of burnout.
In summary, burnout out is real and is impacting the health, well-being, and careers of vascular surgeons. Burnout places both the surgeon and the patient at risk for a poor outcome. Burnout influences medical student and resident career choices. Burnout can no longer be ignored – doing nothing is not an option.
Can the Society of Vascular Surgery do anything to improve the well-being of its members? We will begin that discussion next month.
*The authors extend their thanks and appreciation for the guidance, resources and support of Michael Goldberg, M.D., Scholar in Residence, Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care, Boston, Mass., and Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at Seattle Children’s Hospital..
In my editorial in the November issue of Vascular Specialist I asked the question: Are we ok? I received many responses from members and I think the collective answer is best characterized as …maybe. Like nearly every other physician, I have witnessed the effects of burnout for my entire career. After high school, I enrolled in a BA/MD program with about 60 other students. Nearly half never matriculated. After medical school, I began a general surgery residency with seven other categorical interns. Six of them quit in the first year. What we now call burnout was once thought of as a process for weeding out those who could not “hack” it. Those students were not fit to be doctors; those interns were not fit to be surgeons. The process worked. Or so we thought.
The epidemic of physician burnout has raised alarm in many healthcare organizations. This mental state, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment, has adverse consequences for both patient and clinician. The statistics are sobering. More than half of physicians, by self-report, have symptoms of burnout. No clinician is immune. Significant numbers of nurses and residents are similarly affected. The trend is worrisome. Compared to 2011, the percentage of physicians with burnout symptoms has increased, and the percentage satisfied with their work/life balance has decreased. Burnout affects physicians across all specialties, but the picture is particularly grim for surgeons, and even a bit more so for vascular surgeons. Compared with 13 other surgical specialties, vascular surgeons report the second highest rate of burnout. They also report the lowest level of career satisfaction, ranked first in stating they may have chosen an alternate career if they could choose again, and first in recommending an alternate career to medicine to their children.
In light of these sobering data, it must become an increasing concern of SVS as our professional home, as well as APDVS, as the professional home for Program Directors in Vascular Surgery, when almost a third of vascular surgeons report depression, and when compared to other surgical specialties, the highest incidence of suicidal ideation occurs in our own colleagues. Perhaps most importantly, 70 percent of physicians who score in the lower third on the Physician Well-Being Index report their well-being as average or above average. So relying on introspection offers limited hope.
Burnout is also a patient care-quality issue. Patients who are cared for by clinicians suffering from burnout do not fare well. A burned-out physician may appear to colleagues as frustrated, cynical and even callous, and to his or her patients as lacking empathy and compassion. Only 53 percent of patients, when surveyed, believe the health care system provides compassionate care. Diabetic patients of physicians with high empathy scores had improved control of HbA1c, fewer hospitalizations and fewer serious complications. Similarly, those with cancer had improved psychological adjustment, decreased ICU utilization and an improved immune response.
What does this landscape look like to those starting their medical careers – our future vascular surgeons? As a rule, students enter medical school altruistic and idealistic, excited about becoming a doctor, empathic and eager to care for their future patients. What follows is a decline in compassion, a crucial ingredient to mitigate burnout. Their curriculum focuses on emotional detachment and affective distancing for the purpose of clinical neutrality. Twenty percent of medical school graduates reported that they experienced disconnects between what they were taught about professional behaviors and attitudes and what they saw demonstrated by their faculty. Empathy is further eroded as residents experience “time-constrained” patient interactions in the clinic, the emergency department and the operating room. They often work with frustrated and overwhelmed faculty members who are experiencing increased pressure to generate greater clinical revenue and struggle with non-intuitive electronic medical record systems.
By almost any metric, vascular surgeons’ work is stressful. They work long hours, spend considerable hours in the operating room (average 20 hours a week) and average 2.7 nights of call a week. The vascular surgery workforce needs to continue to increase in light of the aging population that generally is sicker, yet demanding of more active lives. The demand will not be met without improving the health of our workforce.
Burnout also leads to early retirement. And burnout predicts the future. Each one-point change on the emotional exhaustion burnout scale is associated with a 43 percent higher likelihood that the affected physicians will reduce their FTE over the ensuing 24 months. Compounding supply further are the issues at the front end. An alarming 69 percent of U.S. general surgery trainees meet the criteria for burnout, and 44 percent of the 753 general surgery residents sampled considered dropping out of their training program; an even greater proportion considered doing so if they had symptoms of burnout. Women in training were at a higher risk of burnout compared to men. Although a study of burnout and job satisfaction in members of the American College of Surgeons found that private-practice surgeons were more likely to experience burnout than surgeons practicing in academic settings, Elmore et. al. observed that residents who planned to enter private practice reported higher levels of burnout.
In summary, burnout out is real and is impacting the health, well-being, and careers of vascular surgeons. Burnout places both the surgeon and the patient at risk for a poor outcome. Burnout influences medical student and resident career choices. Burnout can no longer be ignored – doing nothing is not an option.
Can the Society of Vascular Surgery do anything to improve the well-being of its members? We will begin that discussion next month.
*The authors extend their thanks and appreciation for the guidance, resources and support of Michael Goldberg, M.D., Scholar in Residence, Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care, Boston, Mass., and Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at Seattle Children’s Hospital..
