From Burnout to Balance
A Lifeline for Physicians:
How the GLMS Foundation Physician Wellness Program Helps Prevent Burnout
by Kathryn Vance
Long hours, emotional fatigue, administrative overload and increasing expectations all contribute to a profession under strain. Burnout is affecting the health and longevity of careers for physicians like you who dedicate your lives to caring for others. But for physicians, residents and medical students in the Greater Louisville Medical Society, help is not only available, it’ s confidential, free and designed specifically with your unique challenges in mind.
The GLMS Foundation Physician Wellness Program( PWP) was created as a safe harbor where physicians can address life’ s challenges and the burdens of their work without fear of judgment or professional repercussions. Whether you’ re in the early stages of feeling overwhelmed or simply navigating a difficult time in your life, this program is here for you. Every physician deserves the same compassion they show their patients. The PWP is an opportunity to extend that compassion inward.
One of the program’ s greatest strengths is its anonymity. Physicians can seek help knowing everything is confidential. No reports are sent to employers. No diagnoses are recorded in hospital credentialing files. In fact, no insurance is billed at all, ensuring there is no paper trail and no financial burden. This assurance of privacy makes it easier for physicians to take that important first step: acknowledging when they need support.
Thanks to the GLMS Foundation, PWP participants receive up to four free office visits during their career as GLMS members. These sessions are provided by the Psychology Resource Group of Kentucky, a trusted partner in the mental health community with experience in supporting medical professionals. The free sessions are designed not just to treat acute stress or crisis, but also to offer early intervention, helping physicians develop healthy coping strategies before burnout becomes overwhelming.
Physician burnout doesn’ t happen overnight. It builds slowly – often silently – until symptoms like exhaustion, cynicism and a diminished sense of purpose become part of daily life. Without intervention, burnout can lead to serious consequences, even including thoughts of leaving the profession altogether.
The PWP is more than a crisis response; it’ s a preventive tool. By encouraging physicians to use the service proactively, GLMS hopes to shift the culture, from one that too often values endurance over well-being, to one that recognizes the strength in asking for help.
The GLMS Physician Wellness Program was created by physicians, for physicians, with one goal in mind: to keep our medical community strong, supported and well. If you need someone to talk to, this is your invitation to take the first step.
It’ s confidential. It’ s free. And it might just change your life.
Kathryn Vance is the Communications and Event Coordinator at the Greater Louisville Medical Society.
How to Access the Program
If you’ re a GLMS member, accessing the Physician Wellness Program is simple. Call Psychology Resource Group of Kentucky at 502-394-9990 to set up your confidential appointment. No insurance forms, no referrals, just a call to begin the process.
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