A physician is showing signs of burnout. How can you help them address performance issues effectively?

Main signs from personal experience: Disengagement not just from work, but also in family and social matters. Excessive sleeping during free times. Early morning body pains. Lack of interest in hobbies.

As someone who cares about the well-being of our physicians, I'd like to offer the following advice to support our colleague in addressing performance issues related to burnout: 1. Encourage Open Conversations 2. Foster a Supportive Environment Additionally, I strongly recommend that our physician colleague allocates at least 1-2 hours daily for self-indulging activities that promote physical health and mental well-being, such as: - Exercise or yoga - Meditation or deep breathing - Reading or listening to music - Spending time with loved ones By taking a proactive and empathetic approach, we can help our physician colleague address burnout, improve their overall well-being and performance, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Supporting a physician facing burnout while addressing performance issues requires a compassionate and structured approach: Recognize the Signs – Acknowledge exhaustion, emotional detachment, or decreased efficiency. Encourage Open Dialogue – Create a safe space for discussion without judgment. Offer Flexible Solutions – Adjust workload, provide administrative support, or modify schedules. Promote Wellness Resources – Encourage counseling, peer support, or mindfulness programs. Provide Constructive Feedback – Focus on solutions rather than criticism. Foster Team Support – Encourage delegation and collaboration to ease pressure. Monitor & Follow Up – Regularly check in to ensure improvement and sustained well-being.

Not only in medical field, there should be restrictions with respect to working hours. That is why concept of shift came into existence.

Physician burnout is real, and addressing it takes proactive leadership. As a health and wellness coach working closely with driven professionals, I use my 3M Method to help manage burnout effectively: 🧠 Mindset – Recognize early signs of burnout (irritability, fatigue, cynicism) and approach them with empathy, not judgment. 💪 Movement – Encourage active dialogue and regular wellness breaks—movement boosts mood and energy levels significantly. 🥗 Macros – Prioritize nutritional self-care strategies that fuel performance and mental clarity throughout demanding shifts. When physicians are supported holistically, their performance, morale, and patient care all improve.

Burnout in physicians is real, but health tech can help address performance issues. Digital tools for stress management, wellness tracking, and mindfulness allow physicians to monitor their health and tackle burnout early. Telehealth provides confidential mental health support, while AI-driven workload management can balance patient loads and reduce administrative strain. Ambient AI can further enhance this by offering real-time, hands-off assistance in tasks like patient documentation and scheduling, giving physicians more time for self-care. By leveraging health tech, we can empower physicians to manage stress, improve performance, and prioritize well-being.

Healthcare professionals often face unrealistic expectations - not just from home but even more from patients, management, and the public. I once worked in a role where I had to handle tasks far beyond my primary duties - ensuring the organization's logo was correctly formatted on reports, operating machines, and, in one absurd case, a male doctor had to be responsible for turning on the generator during power outages. Yet, refusing these extra tasks is seen as weakness, incompetence or lack of dedication. It's time to acknowledge these pressures and advocate for healthier work environments.

Physicians who are generally old in organization or spend some time like after an year or so may face burnout because of inadequate resources for managing workload. This happens because resources are decided generally when they joins newly. Regular/ periodic discussion or review of work should be done by management with physicians to share expectations and listening to their needs and concerns. This can prevent burnout and keep the physicians motivated.

One thing I found helpful in my practice is regular yoga and meditation for 1 hr. That helped me to increased flexibility of muscles and meditation gave me freshness at the start of day. Apart from that , having healthy balance diet, regular meal time and adequate sleep further improved my performance.