(continued from page 27)
tion ages, more primary providers are needed just at a time when medical students are
opting away from primary care, because of
the increased amount of time it involves,
heavy caseloads, lower reimbursement rates,
and increased regulatory bureaucracy. This
leaves an already reduced specialty with an
even smaller new physician pool to draw
from, but with an increase in patients needing just such providers.
MBSR has been found to work for physicians as it is taught in a nonreligious atmosphere with a scientific background that
is particularly appealing to physicians. The
testing ground is a provider’s own practice.
Mindful Meditation changes the physician’s
outlook. For instance, instead of going in
and being confronted with an overbooked
schedule which sets the tone for the day, the
provider takes one patient at a time, focusing only on that patient’s voiced concerns.
By staying in the moment the physician can
take a deep breath, pause and concentrate
solely on the patient in front of them, without worrying about the patients still to be
seen that day.
It is of particular importance that physicians learn the art of mindfulness as this
study found high emotional exhaustion,
medical errors, decreased empathy and decreased job satisfaction, correlating with
increased burnout, mood disorder and
suicide among physicians. This in turn effects patient satisfaction rates, often used
as benchmarks by health regulators, which
leads to higher rates of physician attrition,
affecting patient continuity of care: a vicious
cycle causing harmful consequences to all
parties. In an Academy of Medicine article,
the impact of mindful communication for
primary care physicians found 3 pervading themes; sharing their experiences with
other primary care providers relieved the
feeling of isolation, improved their listening skills and helped physicians to call on
inner reserves to cope and adjust. It created
a greater sense of self-awareness. However,
these same physicians had difficulty making
time in their schedules for taking care of
themselves, (Beckman, et. al., 2012).
Sadly, programs to help primary care
physicians before they hit a crisis point are
relatively few. Those that included mindful
communication have shown lasting benefits
in small trials, (JAMA, 2009). The health
care system must recognize the potential
risk primary care physicians are under,
when faced with heavy cases, less time and
low reimbursement. The need to develop
programs to help physicians cope with these
responsibilities is important to enable physicians to practice and maintain a balanced,
healthy life. The cost of participating in a
course such as Mindful Meditation is beneficial to all parties. Providers can achieve
higher job satisfaction, with less burnout,
and this benefits the patient with improved
continuity of care. The health care system
experienced decreased cost from medical
errors, provider turnover, and loss of work
hours from provider exhaustion.
References
Beckman, et.al. (2012). The impact of a
program in mindful communication on
primary care physicians. Academy of Medicine. 2012;87(6): 815-819.
Fortney, L., Luchterhand, C., Zakletskais,
L., Zgierska, A., and Rakel, D. (2013). Abbreviated mindfulness intervention for job
satisfaction, quality of life, and compassion
in primary care clinicians: A pilot study.
Annals of Family Medicine. http://www.annfammed.org, vol 11(5): sept/oct pg 412-419
Krasner, et.al. (2009). Association of an educational program in mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes
among primary care physicians. JAMA,
sept 23;302(12):1284-93. dos: 10.1001/
jama.2009.1384
Mindfulnet. (2012). What is mindfulness?
mindfulnet.org
World Health Organization. (2012). What
is the WHO definition of health? http://
www.who.int/suggestions/faq/en/index.
html. Accessed Feb 15, 2016.
Dr. Aziz practices Orthopaedic Surgery with
St. Vincent Medical Group.
Editors Note:
GLMS has introduced the
Physician Wellness Program
to address physician burnout.
See page 4 or contact
[email protected] for
more information
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Garrett Adams, MD, MPH
D
ear Mary,
I have
enjoyed
your editorials in
“Louisville Medicine” so much I am
constrained to write a
“Letter to the Editor.”
“Home is the Hunter” I read and reread. Your defense of the ACA, (“President
28
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
Obamacare” – such a tour de force) is the
best I have read, and I have read a lot of
them. Out of respect for your fine essay
and support for President Obamacare, I
will refrain from poking holes, or maybe I
should, but that’s another story.
The point of this note is to praise your
engaging stories and essays and to thank
you for these wonderful pieces.
All the best,
Dr. Garrett Adams
Garrett Adams, MD, MPH, is Associate Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at the University
of Louisville and Past President of the Physicians for a Na