Finding and fueling your professional passion

Abstract

Burnout among physician faculty in academic family medicine and other specialties has been measured at “epidemic” levels. No parallel research has been completed on behavioral science faculty in family medicine. Behavioral science faculty face many of the same stressors as their physician colleagues and have a high potential for professional isolation. Therefore, it seems likely that burnout is an issue for behaviorists, as well. This paper will describe the stressors that behaviorists in family medicine may face and briefly reviews some of the literature on burnout in physicians. The potential roles of meaning making, professional affiliation with one’s “discipline of origin,” and of engaging in a “passion project” are reviewed. The author shares experiences with these strategies and highlights how a “passion project” can facilitate engagement and meaning making even under challenging circumstances. In addition, she reviews the opportunities and challenges inherent in increased engagement, focusing on timing, peer support, and subject matter factors that should be considered before undertaking any major project. After reviewing Vallerand’s work on “harmonious” versus “”obsessive” passion, the author notes how behaviorists can monitor their own level of career engagement and ensure that their passion projects remain a source of “harmonious” passion.