BEYOND BURNOUT
Abstract
Burnout amongst medical professionals, characterized by a low sense of personal accomplishment, various degrees of emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization, has often been found to be an extension of the stresses carried forth by many medical students into their residencies and roles as early-career physicians. The intensive time demands and productivity pressures associated with high achievement in medical school coupled with the stigmatization of mental health are only a few of the factors contributing to this burnout. The prevalence of early-onset burnout in many medical students raises concerns as it is not only manifested in deterioration of mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing but is also a significant predictor of suicide ideation.
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This burnout that begins within one’s years of medical school not only serves as detrimental to the medical student but also has widespread effects within the healthcare system. The relationship between patient and physician satisfaction has been explored intensively throughout the years and the low job satisfaction, poor quality of patient care, decreased work productivity, higher outpatient costs and medical error that can be associated with burnout have severe implications for the foundations of the healthcare system.
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With such consequences on both personal and patient health, it is imperative that efforts are made to combat or even mitigate the degree of this burnout. Through an investigation of various research studies and first-hand accounts from medical students, it became clear that individual well-being must be prioritized and healthy habits must be established early on in order to combat this burnout and succeed in one’s career as a physician. From the medical student standpoint, a few methods to cope with burnout include building in time for a hobby or stress-relieving outlet, vocalizing one’s thoughts and feelings with peers to foster support, and reinvigorating potentially lost interest by directly working with and benefiting patients to reinstill a sense of direction and purpose.
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Preface
Throughout the process of proposing, drafting, and outlining various components of my project, I focused on an exploration of burnout amongst medical students, the causes and earliest stages of burnout, and mechanisms or outlets that can be used to cope with and mitigate burnout. I went back and forth trying to decide how I wanted to convey the various forms of information and insight I had gathered. In considering all the components and moving pieces I wanted to incorporate into my final project, I decided to build an Instagram page for my final form. In choosing the topic of burnout, I derived inspiration from various pieces I read and guest speakers or podcasts I listened to for my Medical Humanities class. I knew that I wanted to explore such a personal and critical hardship many individuals in health professions face, particularly because I intend to pursue a career in medicine. I found inspiration in the aesthetics, organization, and content of various medical students’ Instagram pages and podcasts who use their platforms to depict their experiences in conjunction with their passions, projects, and beliefs. Their ability to reach audiences including undergraduate students like myself inspired me to want to share more about burnout in attempts to mitigate its extremity as well as foster healthy habits to prevent early onsets of it. The driving force behind my desire to pursue this topic, though, was actually my own personal experiences with what I perceive to be as experiencing degrees of burnout as an undergraduate student amidst this pandemic.
The more I thought about what I wanted to convey in this final piece, the more I realized that I wanted to reach audiences in not only an informative manner but also an authentic one. Through personal accounts from medical students, my own experiences navigating the individual, social and academic struggles associated with a pandemic-filled year of university, and an investigation of various studies as well as medical sites, I wanted to shed light on both informative and personalized aspects of burnout through an Instagram page. In extrapolating data from studies, listening to podcasts, and gleaning insight from current medical students, I was able to draft and compile various Instagram posts, which honestly, served as a therapeutic way to mitigate some of my own stress. Through this page, I hope to inform and inspire students that may feel like they are experiencing aspects of burnout and in some way, regardless of how small, help them cope.
Instagram Preview Gallery
Below are some samples from various posts I drafted for my group’s Instagram page @beyondburnout201
Feel free to browse the Instagram page at the link below:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondburnout201/
References
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Clark, Maria. “The 5 Main Causes of Burnout in Healthcare.” Etactics, Etactics | Revenue Cycle Software, 7 Nov. 2019, etactics.com/blog/burnout-in-healthcare-causes.
Connor, Erinn. “Fighting Loyola Medical Stress with Paintbrushes.” Loyola University Chicago – Features, www.luc.edu/features/stories/artsandculture/burnoutart/.
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Haddad, James. “Reasons Why Medical Students Burn out and Become Depressed.” KevinMD.com, KevinMD.com, 19 July 2011, www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/06/reasons-medical-students-burn-depressed.html.
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Joshi, Saie, host. “A Quarter-life Crisis and Handling Burnout.” Brown Girl White Coat, Apple Podcasts, Sept. 2019. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-quarter-life-crisis-and-handling-burnout/id1447068401?i=1000448425183.
Joy, Kevin. “One Medical Student’s Mission to Erase the Stigma of Depression.” University of Michigan, 13 Feb. 2018, labblog.uofmhealth.org/med-u/one-medical-students-mission-to-erase-stigma-of-depression.
Lesser, Casey. Looking at Art Could Help Med Students Become Better Doctors, 27 Nov. 2018, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-help-med-students-better-doctors.
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