Authors: Brian Ferguson, DO, MPH (1,2) and Martin Huecker, MD (1) – Editors-in-Chief
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Abstract
Introduction: Welcome to Part 2 of the bi-annual Journal of Wellness review of 2019 wellness literature (July-December). In this review, JWellness editors continue the goal of bringing a cohesive awareness of recent publications within the wellness domain, encompassing wellness leaders from all disciplines in healthcare. We provide insight into unique perspectives and new science published outside of JWellness, dealing with burnout prevention and wellness initiative implementation.
Methods: Pubmed database from July to December (2019) was queried for keywords: “burnout,” “wellness,” “well-being,” in “physicians” and “healthcare professionals.” JWellness editors selected forty-one articles for in-depth review, and chose to include twenty-two for review. To meet inclusion, a paper had to specifically address a concept relating to the wellbeing of healthcare professionals, or offer a new perspective to the current body of research in burnout, resilience or wellness.
Literature in Review: Common themes in current wellness publications include various surveys to decipher trends in burnout, personal characteristics of those that meet Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) criteria for burnout, expert opinion on legal implications, interventions targeting burnout prevention, and workplace bolstering by pilot wellness and resilience programs.
Conclusions: Despite recent improvement, burnout is still considered an epidemic by many. The path to burnout includes moral injury, compassion fatigue and excessive burden of tasks. This affects not only our patient care, but also influences individual brain chemistry. Thriving represents a new, albeit rare, target of wellness intervention strategies. Tools for thriving can be found in the currently underutilized legal system, as well as administration directed self-learning and sharing initiatives. Perspectives in positive psychology, optimization of self-valuation, self-compassion, exercise encouragement and meditation programs all harbor potential for enhancing physician thriving and overcoming burnout.
Affiliation:
1 Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Louisville
2 Emergency Department, Keesler Air Force Base