The “Slow Burn” out… a tale of healthcare today

I have been feeling this in my gut today and I want to take a second and talk about “burnout.”

As healthcare providers we came to this profession because we felt a pull to care for others. We are the empaths… the givers…the guardians against illness. 

The moms and dads who forgo weekends and holiday dinners with our families, to care for yours in their time of need. We have seen the infinite depths to which humanity can… and will… go.

We have witnessed miracles, laughed with you, and been your shoulder to cry on. We welcomed you into this world and been the hand you hold as you cross the veil.

We do this willingly, and with a badge of honor, because we don’t know any other way to be.

It’s part of who we are innately… we are the “care takers”, even when we are “off the clock. ” Cause let’s face it, there is NO way to simply ” turn it off.”

And then…

2020 came…

It shook most of us to our very foundational core. Scared the absolute hell out of most of us… this unknown, invisible killer, that we willingly showed up to personally dance with daily.

We were face to face with death… with no ammunition but our heart. Not enough supplies… not enough manpower… and still…we persevered.

When the numbers started to sway in our favor, we were happy for a reprieve… at last.

 

After facing down all that… we now face a different enemy.

2022 is seeing the face of medicine changing yet again.

Most of those providers who had the option to retire during or after Covid… Did just that. They were burned out. The mental and physical toll of the stress was no longer worth it.

Truthfully, I think the pandemic put many things into perspective for many Americans.

What truly is important in life?

It was a wake-up call… People no longer feel like their God given limited, and precious, time is worth doing something that they don’t believe in, or love, for a living. And who can blame them.

Employers are finding that out the hard way. And as they figure this out, it is making it more difficult on those who do show up and “clock in” every day.

Take healthcare for example…

Hospitals are short staffed on doctors, nurses, medical assistants, janitors etc. They are feeling the physical and financial strain, as this is leading to closing smaller facilities to shuttle their now limited human resources into the bigger ones to keep on functioning.

At my level, as a provider, we are being told to do more with less. Shorten your appointment times, work longer hours, open up your panels to take in more patients into the office. WE. NEED. MORE. ACCESS.

MORE. MONEY.

As they spend millions on everything… but recruiting extra help.

When we are already overloaded and unable to adequately serve the population that we care for now. This is why you have 6-9 month waits for appointments in some offices. There are simply too many patients to care for, and not enough providers and time slots to do it.

But thats “fine” right?

As long as it makes the “machine” money?

At what cost?

We sacrifice time with our patients. That extra 5 or 10 minutes that would have let us do a more thorough assessment. Asked more in-depth questions. Given more patient education to put the power of these, sometimes debilitating, conditions back in the patient’s hands.

Ask anyone who has ever tried to talk to a newly diagnosed diabetic… Can that kind of patient education be done in a 20 minute time slot????

Hell no!

” Well, just bring them back again and continue the conversation”… for another copay… another bill…

Ethically, this just feels so wrong in every fiber of my being. Milking the insurance companies for all they legally can, just to pad the company pockets, while still not completely serving our patients.

SERVICE

S.E.R.V.I.C.E.

Service to our fellow man.

To God’s children.

The calling on our lives.

The reason we went to school.

But you go to work and continue to try and do your job to the best of your ability, even though you feel like you may be trying to work with one hand tied behind your back. You continue to attempt to get in as much quality patient care as you can … day after day…

Will I ever quit healthcare?

Heck no! I don’t even know who I would be if I wasn’t busy being a cheerleader for someone to take charge of their health. I couldn’t stop it if I tried.

But I would be lying if I said it doesn’t start to wear on you… feeling like you are compromising your ethics… compromising patient care…

like you are “selling out”

Like you are slowly “burning out”