Avoid High Costs of Physician Stress and Burnout

After digesting the Mayo Clinic’s alarming data released on Monday, August 20, 2012, stating that nearly 1 in 2 (45.8%) of the nation’s doctors already suffer a symptom of burnout, it is now time to understand the implications of physician stress and burnout and what you can do about it.

Physician stress and burnout drives turnover, which is highly disruptive and expensive for a medical practice.  Besides increased turnover and retention challenges, healthcare organizations risk patient safety and quality issues.  Decreased productivity, disruptive behavior and lower morale also result from a lack of attention to the signs and symptoms of physician stress and burnout.

Recruiters need to recognize a stressed practice environment because it will only make recruitment more difficult and costly.  According to the 2011 Physician Stress and Burnout Survey from Physician Wellness Services and Cejka Search, nearly 14% of physicians left a practice due to stress and/or burnout.  Each of these vacancies translates to nearly $100,000 in accumulated costs each month from loss of downstream revenue, incurred recruiting costs and annual start-up costs.

The survey also revealed that most physicians (87%) are moderately to severely stressed and/or burned out.  Typically the physicians who have higher stress levels are mid-career physicians in their 40s and 50s because these doctors are at a point in their lives where family pressures from their children and aging parents may be mounting, while job demands that come with higher experience levels are increasing.

Healthcare organizations can “address the stress” and promote a more balanced, productive work environment for physicians by offering the following:

• Flexible work options, including four-day work week or part-time schedules
• Teamwork through job sharing, hospitalist programs and an increased use of advanced practitioners
• Technology, such as EMRs, allows for remote access and more cohesive communication

To learn more about the impact physician stress and burnout has on your organization’s recruitment and retention goals, and what organizations can do about it, visit http://www.cejkasearch.com/resources/trend-benders/physician-stress-and-burnout/.