Four principles for burnout recovery
In Breaking and Mending, Joanna Cannon walks us through her medical school journey, providing commentary on what the academic experience actually involves. The challenges she faces include the suicide of a physician friend, befriending a patient who dies from cancer at thirty-eight, and having to cover for an attending physician who abruptly quits in the middle of an overnight shift - ten days into her start as a resident. She first encounters a patient with severe abdominal pain and vomiting, unable to communicate because of his learning difficulties. Next, she deals with a cancer patient begging for more morphine, despite already reaching her maximum allowable dose. Although she finds herself emotionally and physically drained from the nonstop patient needs, she recovers once she starts working in psychiatry. With the right environment, team, and specialty, she rediscovers her love for helping patients and rededicates herself to practicing medicine.
Takeaways:
Evaluate your talents. If you know what you're good at, you should spend the majority of your time doing that. The next step, though, is to figure out what you enjoy improving at. As Dan Pink writes in Drive, the desire for mastery helps people find their flow. Plenty of people are good at something they don't enjoy. Instead, discover skills you would love to refine. For me, I love teaching dance. The love doesn't stop there, however. I also have continually looked for ways to refine my teaching technique. Burnout would be imminent if I didn't enjoy continually polishing my style.
Assemble a team. The second step of burnout recovery is to surround yourself with the right people. Remember, your team's dedication must match yours. Knowing you're not alone, along with the encouragement the team can share with each other, helps everyone stay committed. For dance club, I am fortunate enough to work with students who also love dancing. Furthermore, reminding ourselves of the common cause prevents petty disagreements from stalling the bigger purpose. Finally, we make sure we complement each others' skills and efforts.
Know your target. You should have a clear idea of whom you want to serve. Thinking of the joy your beneficiaries get with your help boosts low morale. In Joanna's case, she has a heart for those who suffer from mental illness. In my case, my fellow leaders and I love being around students eager to learn and have fun.
Find the reason for your resolve. Although Simon Sinek says to start with your "why," asking the actual question of "why" can put people on the defensive. Rather, take a gentler angle. Identify the reasons which make your efforts worthwhile. These can tie in with a desire to use your skills and the people you want to help. The dance club happens to be at my alma mater, so helping with the club through direction and teaching is a great way to give back to the campus community.
In high school, I liked the idea of a career in medicine. The quality of life and prestige associated with being a physician appealed to me, like many other aspiring pre-med students. However, shadowing at a clinic as a college student showed me how much work really went into treating patients. Even though I chose a different path in healthcare, I still had similar struggles with burnout. Whether or not you're in healthcare, Joanna's journey provides insight and inspiration in reigniting a passion for our work.
