Grand rounds help physicians and other healthcare professionals keep up-to-date in evolving topics.
On April 30th, fellow hospitalist, Dr. Carol Faulk, will be presenting “Physician Wellbeing” as the invited guest speaker for Evening Grand Rounds.
Burnout can be defined as a triad of emotional exhaustion, callousness and a low sense of personal achievement. There has been increasing recognition of burnout in physicians and especially physicians-in-training. Burnout in physicians has been linked to increased medical errors and depression. As a result, there have been a wealth of research on strategies to combat burnout, new ACGME requirements for residency programs to promote resident wellness, and a better understanding of how burnout develops. Duty hour restrictions, systemic changes to the way medicine is practiced, stress management workshops, and mindfulness training are a few of the interventions used to help prevent burnout.
I have been passionate about physician wellness since helping to co-found the “Balance in Medicine” program for Washington University in St. Louis Internal Medicine program in 2016. This program includes providing a wellness curriculum with small group discussion sessions led by a clinical psychologist for the residents. I am looking forward to helping educate my colleagues about physician burnout and wellness. I believe this is an important topic for physicians to discuss and understand because of the impact burnout has on ourselves and our patients.
Carol Hayes Faulk, MD