Month: July 2017
Perception of Personal Success in Burnout
By Shree Agrawal In the preclinical years of medical school, the idea of burnout among healthcare workers is more of an abstract concept. The unique environment of healthcare, regardless of specialty or academic/private practice settings, has been shown to make all healthcare providers vulnerable to burnout.(1)(2) In my observations on clinical rotations, it seems highly successful peers, trainees, and faculty, who may have multiple publications, excellent clinical skills, and a strong work ethic, can also be the same individuals who unexpectedly experience burnout. Interactions with someone who does not realize they may actually be experiencing burnout are challenging, even for individuals who are at the fray of most clinical situations. Some of the key manifestations of burnout include emotional exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization or isolation, feelings of ineffectiveness, and lack of accomplishment, as shown in Figure 1.(3) Some of these features are difficult to fully notice in brief professional interactions with...
Success is a Journey
By Jaime D. Lewis, MD Advancement up the academic ladder from grade school through college and medical school was measured by meeting well-defined milestones along a smooth and narrow pathway. Residency and fellowship introduced some variability but were accompanied by a similarly transparent structure of progression. The end of formal training felt as if I had embarked on a journey along a rocky, winding trail through dark fog aided variably by an old compass that occasionally pointed northward, or at least somewhere in the general vicinity. When I became faculty, this experience and the loss of an unambiguous measuring stick was quite disorienting leading me to feel as if I had I lost my ability to gauge my progress and my achievement of success or descent towards failure. Through time, work, self-reflection, and connection, I am once again on a trail that I know is moving onward and upward. And...
#DearIntern: Social Media Mentorship to the Max
By Marissa A. Boeck In April 2015, Dr. Amalia Cochran had an idea. The United States Match Day had come and gone, and while most fourth year medical students were enjoying their last moments of unbridled freedom before the oft feared start of intern year, Dr. Cochran was thinking ahead. As a burn surgeon and Vice Chair of Education & Professionalism at the University of Utah, she was well-versed in the significance and misperceptions surrounding July 1st, and knew it would come sooner than most would imagine. To ease this seemingly overnight transition from student to doctor, she reached out to gather intel on how to prepare for the big day from one of the best (and arguably still untapped) resources in medicine: Twitter. The initial message asked: Dr. Cochran’s followers and interconnected community took it from there, and #DearIntern was born. Since the first post and subsequent blog, the...