August 4, 2020
The Sad Plight of Burnout among America’s Frontline Nurses
EDITOR’S NOTE: With the resurgence of the coronavirus, the toll among America’s frontline caregivers could be especially taxing, particularly for nurses. And while much attention has been focused on physician burnout, in a recent interview conducted by Chuck Buck with Dr. H. Steven Moffic, the focus shifted to nurses. A…
December 10, 2019
From Docs to Moms, Everyone’s Feeling the Burn
No longer is burnout unique to physicians; parental burnout is on the rise too. EDITOR’S NOTE: H. Steven Moffic, MD, a nationally prominent psychiatrist and author, has co-authored a new book, the first of its kind on the subject of burnout, titled “Combating Physician Burnout: A Guide for Psychiatrists,” published…
July 9, 2019
Physician Burnout: “This Long Disease, My Career”
Burnout of medical and nursing professionals is not only a ‘long’ disease but a fatal one. In a book, “Epistle to Dr. Arbutnot,” which is today only read by students and scholars of 18th century English literature, Alexander Pope wrote, “This long disease, my life.” This is not a misanthropic…
June 4, 2019
Physician Burnout: A Hot Topic
More than half of physicians have experienced burnout, according to WHO. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified physician burnout as an occupational phenomenon. The WHO is clear that this is not a medical diagnosis. There are some estimates that more than half of physicians have experienced burnout. This…
February 19, 2019
Survey Reveals Clues About Physician Burnout but Who is Listening?
Is the healthcare industry tone deaf to physicians’ complaints? The Physicians Foundation 2018 Physician Survey, published on Sept. 18, 2018, features opinions of our nation’s physicians—opinions that are sobering and should sound a loud wake-up call. When distilled down to the very essence of the report, the “fixes” for our…
July 31, 2018
Sexual Harassment in Healthcare: The Silent Symptom
Sexual harassment covers a wide range of behaviors. We are hearing more and more about sexual harassment in workplaces of all types, from business to the media and the arts. Unfortunately, this is also an issue in medicine. While some may think that physicians should “know better” and not engage…
Ten strategies for avoiding burnout are provided by the author. On any given day, if you walked into my home office, you might think you were in a spa. The walls are painted a soothing aqua color (at least, I think it’s soothing), a scent diffuser releases a pleasant tea…
April 10, 2018
Gender Wage Discrepancy Simmers in Healthcare
A recent study on gender wage discrepancy sheds new light on an old issue. EDITOR’S NOTE: Opinions expressed by ICD10monitor contributors are their own. Following the sea of knitted pink hats worn by some of the hundreds of thousands of women who took to the streets in cities across…
March 13, 2018
Physician Burnout Simmering Below the Surface
“Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord, why don't we?”— Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, 1982 Left alone in a small examining room, I scrolled the Associated Press news app on my cell phone, waiting for my physician to…
July 25, 2017
Open Door Leadership in Remote Settings
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second installment in a three-part series by Sarah Laird on the issues and solutions associated with coder burnout. Remote work settings can constitute an adjustment for anyone, whether a team member or leader. The remote work setting typically provides flexibility in work hours, eliminates stressful commutes,…