Doctor Burnout Is A National Threat Lost In the Debate About Revising the Affordable Care Act
A new 2017 report by Medscape Lifestyle reveals that the burnout rate for emergency medicine (EM) doctors is nearly 60 percent, up 10 points since 2013, the first year the report was issued. One of the main reasons for burnout is "too many bureaucratic tasks." More than 14,000 physicians in 27 specialties took part in the survey and noted that over 50 percent of all doctors are dealing with these intense issues.
"No one is talking about the health of physicians and nurses. I want the citizens of this country to be covered by a good health plan, but not at the expense of doctors, some of whom suffer from depression and substance abuse. Most people would be shocked to learn that suicide among doctors is a problem. I've lost several colleagues in recent years," says Black, who manages a network of hospitals in the
Also, government mandates bring a heavier workload without putting restrictions on the number of hours a doctor can function in the ER. Yet this nation limits the hours an airline pilot or truck driver can legally perform their duties.
"It makes no sense. Why are physicians, who deal with life and death decisions, not aided and respected in the same manner?"
Black, a
"When you lose a child you are caring for in the ER a little bit of your soul dies. There is nowhere to go to mourn and get some relief. You just have to buck up and carry on, hour after hour, one tragedy after another," he says. "Part of the problem is money. Everyone thinks doctors are wealthy and therefore don't need or deserve more attention. Not true."
To share his own ordeal in medical school and then as a partner in a bustling medical group, Black authored The Passive Income Physician: Surviving a Career Crisis by Expanding
"We have to look after our own health if we're going to be effective in hospitals. Yes, we make good money, but that doesn't buy superhuman endurance and emotional stability under duress. If the politicians won't discuss the depletion of the medical community, we must do a better job managing our money and personal expectations," he says, adding, "Commercial real estate and expanding net worth was my path to a calm mind and healthy heart."
While influential groups such as the
"Real estate is now my passion but it is also my salvation," says Black, who last year co-founded
"The Passive Income Physician sheds some light on the dangers of overworking our doctors, and how they can do a better job providing for themselves. Obamacare will be with us for the foreseeable future. But no matter which health plan you prefer, when you rush your family member to an emergency room, do you want to be treated by an exhausted, depressed doctor? Or a rested, balanced human being who is not on the verge of collapse?"
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