Even in the best work environments, medical jobs are extremely stressful. Don’t feel like you’re alone, millions of people every year suffer from depression, anxiety, and other forms of stress-induced illness from simply burning out. Once you’ve done enough of a single thing, that thing becomes a truly gargantuan task. But, if you are a skilled and passionate professional, people need your abilities to help them with their issues, so it’s important not to burn out even in the worst cases.
While many people may scoff at someone in such a rewarding field having this problem, it’s extremely common. Click here for a fantastic article that explains some issues arising from burnout, and why it may affect Orthopedic Surgeons more than you might think. The truth is, any one thing done enough times can create cynicism that doctors, surgeons, nurses, and anyone who helps them must fight if they are to do their jobs to the standard people need. Here are some tips for avoiding stress or conquering it once it’s there.
Learn to Relax
You may scoff at this, considering medical professionals are often overworked. “If only relaxing were that easy!” you might say, but the truth is some people do it far better than others. It’s a skill, honed by an effort that you must put in to receive any benefit from the experience. If you go to bed after a long day and end up just thinking and then dreaming about a mean coworker, your sleep and energy levels are probably going to be terrible.
The best way I’ve found to unwind after any day is to force myself to do so. Collapsing is a natural thing, but a concerted effort towards destressing is a very difficult thing indeed. Light mental stimulation may help, though let’s remember that you aren’t looking for a Psychiatry job, so you know your own mental habits the best. Things can be put off, and sometimes procrastination is a valid method of coping with a stressful period of time.
Take Care of Your Body
Burnout can be made 10 times worse when the person who is starting to experience it is dehydrated, hungry, or tired. Though burnout is a fundamentally mental condition, if you are already grumpy from not having eaten all day you can bet that you won’t feel up to tackling an already overwhelming sensation.
Ideally, you should eat a good diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, but a little bit of treating yourself is not always a terrible thing. Developing a stress-eating habit is bad, but the act of doing it once or twice a year may not be as harmful as we are led to believe. Above all, be forgiving of yourself and try to avoid resentment towards yourself or others. If you need to, communicating your stress to coworkers might be a good idea.
The Patients Need You
For Orthopedic Surgeons specifically, surgeries come in all shapes and sizes. Here are some examples: https://www.webmd.com/orthopedics/default.htm, though this isn’t even close to a full list. They can last any number of hours and take any amount of skill, but it’s important you go into something like this at your best. Stress may make you cynical to the max but fighting that feeling of dreadful apathy is most important when performing a procedure.
Get in the zone as much as you need to since that is the most important part of your job. Many things can be left behind, but some things are too important to relax about. This probably goes without saying for everyone with any experience, but it’s good to remember.
Seek Help if Required
Burnout is no joke. Don’t be intimidated by the concept of medical professionals seeking help, since the entire industry is based on people needing help getting it. You are no exception, and valuing that time spent on yourself will allow you to perform the service you are supposed to do with maximum efficiency and skill.
Remember that, ironically, surgeons are susceptible to damage to joints and wrist damage a lot more than other medical professionals. Be careful and take precautions to preserve your strength. Life is a marathon, not a sprint, and if you quit early it can make the rest of your experience as a surgeon an extremely painful and unpleasant time. Don’t forget your loved ones, your sleep, and your physical health along the way, and even the worst procedures will be a piece of cake.
Even the best must fight through a lot of hurdles to make it to the top. Although the top, in this case, might just be another successful surgery, it’s worth making it there. Remember the reasons why you got into this field, and you will avoid the worst that burnout has to offer.
