Doctors are even more critical, especially during the pandemic. There are thousands of Americans right now suffering from various diseases, but no one has asked how medical professionals have been keeping an eye out on their health. Who will then treat these people once medical professionals have burned out and suffered from complete exhaustion?
This is one of the growing problems of hospitals nowadays. Millions of medical professionals are experiencing an increased rate of burnout as they overwork themselves. Some of these professionals have worked themselves to their deaths. The CDC has noticed this and has argued that we don’t want this to happen, especially at a crucial time like this.
Many experts believe that preventing burnout is all about the lifestyle they live before they go to work. If you think you are experiencing the symptoms of burnout, make sure to apply these suggestions in your life. The first thing you should consider is hiring assistants to help you with your job.
Assistants
You can’t do this fight alone. With thousands of patients now arriving because of the infection and virus, you’re going to be needed more than ever, regardless of your specialty. Some doctors right now are on the frontlines, and you can’t afford to be there alone because it will exhaust you even more.
Exhaustion is one of your biggest enemies, and it will lead to a decrease in performance and hamper your efficiency, especially when dealing with patients. So what you need to do is to get an assistant to help you out.
Assistants can come in the form of medical scribes, who will write down anything you say, especially a patient’s medication, to medical assistants who will do administrative work for you. These assistants are also now available online. An excellent virtual medical assistant can technically reduce your workload by half. This means more time to rest and more time with your family.
When you have your assistants ready and working for you, you’ll see that you’re spending less time doing mundane tasks and more time on tasks that matter. These tasks will be the ones that will save lives.
Scheduling
Interestingly enough, a packed schedule isn’t the reason for your burnout. An inefficient one is. Studies have found that most people can handle a packed schedule, especially if they are experienced enough on the task at hand. However, the main problem lies if the schedules aren’t paced to their liking.
People can get into the rhythm of their tasks, and the process of getting there is a robust schedule that is tailor-made for you. First, consider what kind of tasks you like doing and which tasks you don’t like. For example, you might not like checking up on patients, but you enjoy diagnosing diseases. Once you’ve discovered these things, you can create a schedule that’s interesting for you.
Some people like mixing them up to balance each other out, while some liked doing the boring stuff first and making their way to the more enjoyable stuff. A schedule designed around your interests can accommodate your workdays more bearable as a medical professional.
Engage in Restorative Activities
Restorative activities are the kind of activities that tell you: “You’re in control of both your body and mind.” These activities can make a difference in preventing burnout, as long as you schedule them right.
Restorative activities can vary, and it depends mainly on your interests. However, experts believe that two restorative activities should always be done. These two are exercise and self-awareness activities.
The main reason exercise is so important, even if you only do it for a couple of minutes, is because of their hormones. Exercise produces the hormone serotonin, which is important in keeping you happy. This is the same reason why self-awareness activities are so important as well. Both of these activities can help reduce depression and anxiety, both of which are symptoms of burnout. If you want to do both at the same time, yoga is the best choice for you.
Knowing When to Stop
Lastly, you need to know when to stop working. You can’t save everybody, no one can, but you can always save yourself. By choosing to stop, you can fight for another day, and remember that as a medical professional, your life is important. A burnout can jeopardize your immune system, and it doesn’t matter whether you are vaccinated or not. You will get infected at that point.
Knowing when to stop is learned along the way, and it’s part of your profession. Don’t let yourself become overworked during this crucial time in everybody’s life.
What you do as a medical professional today will affect not just your life but countless others. So make the right decisions and let your life flourish. We need you now, more than ever.
