Patient Safety Concerns Over New 24-hour Shift Rule for First-year Doctors

Patient Safety Concerns Over New 24-hour Shift Rule for First-year Doctors

On Saturday, 30,000 first-year medical residents begin work and new rules taking effect that same day could add eight or more hours to their shifts. Doctors fresh out of medical school will be able to work for up to 24 hours... read more

Simulation of a Novel Schedule for Intensivist Staffing to Improve Continuity of Patient Care and Reduce Physician Burnout

Simulation of a Novel Schedule for Intensivist Staffing to Improve Continuity of Patient Care and Reduce Physician Burnout

Despite widespread adoption of in-house call for ICU attendings, there is a paucity of research on optimal scheduling of intensivists to provide continuous on-site coverage. Overnight call duties have traditionally been added... read more

Burn Till You’re Out

Burn Till You’re Out

When using the technical definition of burnout: "The reduction of a fuel to nothing", it clearly describes the state of being of the few people that I have met who are having a burnout. The problem is huge and almost... read more

3 Reasons Many Nurses are Leaving the Profession

3 Reasons Many Nurses are Leaving the Profession

A 2017 study from RNnetwork, one of the largest, travel nursing companies in the country, shows nearly half of the nurses they surveyed are considering leaving the field altogether. RNnetwork provided an email poll to more... read more

Nurses are burnt out. Here's how hospitals can help

Nurses are burnt out. Here's how hospitals can help

Studies have found that overworked nurses lead to more errors and lower patient satisfaction. Nurses across the country are stressed, burnt out and thinking of leaving the profession. Surveys, polls and studies of all kinds... read more

Reflections on the ICU Liberation ABCDEF Bundle Improvement Collaborative

Ludwig Lin, MD, speaks with Brenda Pun, DNP, RN, ACNP, about the ICU Liberation ABCDEF Bundle Improvement Collaborative. Dr. Pun reflects upon Collaborative work, including origins and logistics of the project, team training... read more

Burnout Syndrome in Critical Care: A Call for Action

Burnout Syndrome in Critical Care: A Call for Action

Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a work-related constellation of symptoms and signs that usually occurs in individuals with no history of psychological or psychiatric disorders. BOS is triggered by a discrepancy between the expectations... read more

The Epidemic of Physician and Medical Student Suicide

The Epidemic of Physician and Medical Student Suicide

In the past decade, numerous studies have shown that physicians and medical students have higher rates of suicide than the general population. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that over 400 physicians... read more

Physician Depression and Suicidality

Physician Depression and Suicidality

As physicians, we frequently care for patients with depression and suicidal ideations. On occasion, we may also have to treat patients who have actively attempted suicide via methods such as medication overdose or self-inflicted... read more

A Trauma Nurse Reflects On Compassion Fatigue

A Trauma Nurse Reflects On Compassion Fatigue

Kristin Laurel, a flight nurse from Waconia, Minn., has worked in trauma units for over two decades. The daily exposure to distressing situations can sometimes result in compassion fatigue. That burnout is what Laurel says... read more

A Letter to a Young Emergency Doctor

A Letter to a Young Emergency Doctor

When I was starting out, I was told there were three types of doctors doing emergency medicine: missionaries, adrenaline junkies, and fools. I was all three. Now that I’m burning out at the other end of my career, I have... read more

Physician Burnout Is A Public Health Crisis: A Message To Our Fellow Health Care CEOs

Physician Burnout Is A Public Health Crisis: A Message To Our Fellow Health Care CEOs

The consequences of physician burnout are significant, and threaten our U.S. health care system, including patient safety, quality of care, and health care costs. Costs are impacted by burnout in direct ways (e.g. turnover,... read more

This doctor beat burnout by doing these 5 things

This doctor beat burnout by doing these 5 things

Burnout syndrome is a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. I burned out early. Right out of fellowship, I no longer wanted to be a doctor. The grueling hours, my grumpy... read more

Addressing Physician Burnout

Addressing Physician Burnout

The US health care delivery system and the field of medicine have experienced tremendous change over the last decade. At the system level, narrowing of insurance networks, employed physicians, and financial pressures have... read more