Ep. 20: Physician burnout explained and discussed with Dr Dike Drummond

In this, the 20th episode of the Surviving Healthcare podcast, you will hear an interesting conversation about the huge problem of physician burnout. According to recent reports, burnout affect as many as one out of every three physicians at some point. My guest is Dr. Dike Drummond, a family practice physician known as "The Happy MD" who has spent more than a decade studying this problem and helping physicians learn to deal with it, cope and overcome it.

Our conversation begins with a lively discussion about Dr. Drummond's personal experience with burnout and the subconscious programming that he feels leads physicians to burn out, starting with the seven-year "indoctrination process" that begins in pre-med and which is ingrained by the time of residency. He then explains the two main directives that are a surefire recipe for burnout and why physicians who are made to believe those two things are programmed for burnout from the beginning. Dr. Drummond then discusses the direct link between quality of care and burnout and what indicators are present in those circumstances that place patients and their practices at risk.

We then talk about physicians who forget to live, and suggests ways to change that pattern. He stresses the importance of burnout prevention programs and explains the need for better role models for medical school students. He then names the four major causes for burnout and explains each thoroughly:

·         Stressful work

·         Job conditions

·         No life, bad scheduling

·         Conditioning

Dr. Drummond then describes specific techniques physicians can use to reduce the effects of those factors and create a life that is in balance as well as how physicians can teach patients how to use these techniques.

Our conversation concludes with a discussion of why some doctors seem to survive the process and even become better as a result. You may be surprised at the percentage of  physicians that are victims of burnout at some point in their careers.

To read more about this episode or check out other guests and topics, visit surivivinghealthcarepodcast.com