from JAMA, 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1284-93
Krasner MS, Epstein RM, Beckman H, Suchman AL, Chapman B, Mooney CJ, Quill TE.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA. michael_krasner@urmc.rochester.edu
CONTEXT: Primary care physicians report high levels of distress, which is linked to burnout, attrition, and poorer quality of care. Programs to reduce burnout before [...]
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from Harv Bus Rev. 2005 Nov;83(11):53-8, 165
Benson H.
Stress is an essential response in highly competitive environments. Before a race, before an exam, before an important meeting, your heart rate and blood pressure rise, your focus tightens, you become more alert and more efficient. But beyond a certain level, stress overloads your system, compromising your performance [...]
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Posted in Burnout, Mindfulness in Medicine on Jul 25th, 2009
from the journal, Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2009 May;15(2):61-6
Irving JA, Dobkin PL, Park J.
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada. Julie.irving@mail.mcgill.ca
Demands faced by health care professionals include heavy caseloads, limited control over the work environment, long hours, as well as organizational structures and systems in transition. Such conditions have been directly linked [...]
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Posted in Burnout, Medical Education on Jul 25th, 2009
from the journal, J Holist Nurs. 2009 Jun;27(2):103-14
Posadzki P, Jacques S.
University of East Anglia, School of Medicine, Health Policy.
The aim of this article is to review the literature on Tai Chi and meditation. A coherent construct is developed that includes a comparative analysis and conceptual synthesis of existing theories. The authors discuss a set of [...]
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Posted in Burnout on Jul 25th, 2009
from the journal, Aust Fam Physician. 2009 Jun;38(6):454-8
Manoch R, Gordon A, Black D, Malhi G, Seidler R.
Natural Therapies Unit, Royal Hospital for Women, Sydney, New South Wales. r.manocha@healthed.com.au
BACKGROUND: General practitioner stress is a recognised problem for which meditation is a potential intervention. The aim of this project was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness [...]
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Expressing Humanism in Each Medical Encounter
Ami Schattner, MD
Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(12):1095-1099.
Humanistic behavior is considered an essential component of professional medical care. However, the evidence shows that it is often neglected. Many barriers to the expression of sensitivity to the patient’s concerns and empathy and compassion in the clinical encounter can be [...]
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In the most recent Archives of Internal Medicine, investigators examined the pervasive but poorly understood issue of “the difficult patient encounter” (Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(4):410-414). The authors write “Nearly 1 of 6 outpatient visits is considered difficult by physicians. Difficult encounters are more likely to occur with patients who have a mental disorder, present with [...]
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“As a RN, I spent the first 10 years of my now 20 year career trying to figure a way out. Having become a nurse as a second career at age 35, I found it hard to start over again.
When I stumbled across MBSR, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction in 2004 I was full of life [...]
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I often hear this expression in the hospital coming from those with some degree of equanimity about the inevitable and frustrating vicissitudes one encounters in the health care system. When health-care practitioners are confronted with dreaded or unanticipated outcomes and situations are scrutinized endlessly in search of uncovering what went wrong or how things may [...]
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“The path to happiness and a sense of well-being in this very life lies not in avoiding suffering but in using the conscious, embodied, direct experience of it as a vehicle to gain deep insight into the true nature of life and your own existence.”
Words of wisdom for the burned-out medical practitioner, from Phillip Moffitt’s [...]
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