Abstract
Dr Michael Johns, III’s editorial, “The root cause of physician burnout cannot be solved with resilience efforts,” is germane. 1 Medicine is still a great, admirable profession as well as a great life career, especially when we compare it with other white collar jobs. The doctors in their 50s who vociferously complain about the practice of medicine are the same ones who proudly announce to their colleagues that their offspring got accepted to medical school, ENT residency, fellowship or are joining the practice. Scores of my nonmedical friends seek my help to coach and help their children get into medical school. When they get accepted, the parents are on cloud 9.
During the “white coat ceremony,” first year medical students are so happy and enthusiastic, looking forward to caring for their future patients. What happened in medical school, residency training and the practice of medicine that caused them to become so depressed as mentioned by Dr Johns? Realistically, the compensation after residency/fellowship is comparable to or higher than their college classmates with the same intellect and educational background. Associates as well as partners at law firms, private equity firms, and startups work long hours, as well. Private equity firms, startups, and hedge funds are burdened with risks.
This letter is not to refute Dr Johns’ points. It is not a panacea. It is a viewpoint to lessen the impact of the problems. We are strong and innovative. It is kumbaya plus strategies, excerpts from my courses presented at the Academy and elsewhere on the business of medicine, how to form STID (Single Tax ID) groups of physicians to work with corporate America and hospital networks, how to invest, and pass on to the offspring.
Try “BLT,” Brain, Love, Technology. We have the brain to organize the administration side of running any business. A medical practice is a small business. Hire the right people to do the right job, train them, create manuals. It can be a well-oiled machine. This is no different in other industries. I can give many examples and arrange for site visits.
Recently, I was discussing staff management with the owner of a technology store. Besides the problems we doctors encounter, he is plagued with pilfering. A general contractor’s job keeping subcontractors in line is much more stressful than doctors monitoring our staff. The mandates encountered in the banking industry are voluminous. In ENT, forming large otolaryngologist-owned groups can help balance the power with corporate America.
A patient is the most important person in any practice. A patient is not dependent upon us…we are dependent on him/her. A patient is not an interruption of our work…he/she is the purpose of it. A patient does us a favor when he/she calls…we are not doing him/her a favor by serving him/her. A patient is part of our business…not an outsider. A patient is not a cold statistic…he/she is a flesh-and-blood human being with feelings and emotions like our own. A patient is not someone with whom to argue or match wits. A patient is one who brings us his/her wants…it is our job to fill those wants to the best of our ability. A patient is deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment we can give him/her. Caring for patients is the reason for our jobs.
Deploying and balancing the 3 “BLT,” we have regained some of our sanity, autonomy, and work–life balance. At the end of your career, the physician nest egg on average is higher than that of your college classmates in other professions. Of course, there are the “hedge fund” tycoons. The grass is always greener on the other side and we can get depressed when we try to keep up with the Joneses. We need to be careful about judging our lives against outliers in other fields rather than against the majority.
Medicine is a great profession and an even greater life career. If I had to choose all over again, I would not only be a doctor, but moreover an otolaryngology-head and neck surgeon.