May 2022 | Page 57

The impact of burnout on physicians has been well documented . In a 2011 study , researchers found 45.8 percent of physicians surveyed reported at least one symptom of burnout , a number that increased to 54.4 percent in 2014 . A 2017 follow-up study found burnout among physicians had decreased to 2011 levels , around 43.9 percent , but physicians were still more likely than the general population to feel burned out or be dissatisfied with their work-life balance . Likewise , physicians suffer from higher rates of suicide than the general population . Researchers estimated in a 2018 study that the physician suicide rate was twentyeight to forty per 100,000 , more than twice the general population rate of 12.3 per 100,000 .

Kathleen Boyd is the director of the Rhode Island Medical Society ’ s Physician Health Program , a resource set up in 1978 to assist physicians experiencing health issues , including psychiatric and substance use disorders . In 2021 , the program had its busiest year to date , with thirty-nine referrals . Many of those were for medical professionals experiencing burnout or health issues such as increased substance use , anxiety , depression and post-traumatic stress disorder . The spike came after an initial lull in 2020 , which Boyd attributes to physicians not having the time to seek help during the early months of the pandemic .

“ I think one of the things that happened for front-line physicians was it was difficult to have time for self-care ,” she says . “ Everybody ’ s flat out . Getting help is really about self-care , and you have to kind of fit that into your schedule . For many of the front-line people , there wasn ’ t time for that .”

The trend of medical professionals struggling with burnout or mental health issues is not unique to the pandemic . Among the most common reasons for burnout cited by physicians in surveys conducted both before and during the pandemic is too much time spent on bureaucratic tasks , including charting requirements and paperwork . Other factors include long hours , a lack of respect from administrators or colleagues , insufficient compensation and the expanded use of electronic health records for patient documentation .

“ That ’ s what we hear ,” Boyd says . “ ‘ I see thirty patients or fifty patients , and then I go home and have dinner and help my kids with their homework , and then I do my charting until midnight .’ And that ’ s kind of what ’ s burning people out . It ’ s really hard to have that boundary around your work life and your home life . It ’ s tough .”

In nurses , too , the effects of burnout can be long-lasting . A 2021 survey by the American Nurses Foundation found 34 percent of nurses considered themselves not or not at all emotionally healthy , and 42 percent said they ’ d | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 120

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