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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

“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…

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,…

I am fortunate to work for a company that begins each of its meetings with the reading of its corporate mission statement, setting the tone for the ensuing discussion. In our tradition of aligning principle and practice, I would like to share the Novant mission statement that will guide this…

In the April 22 run-up to Earth Day, Talk Ten Tuesdays recognizes the link between global warning and the physical and mental health of Americans—particularly healthcare professionals. Reporting on this link will be nationally prominent psychiatrist H. Steven Moffic, MD. Dr. Moffic has written extensively about physician burnout and in…