“Burnout skills are the actions at which you excel, that people identify as your strong points but which drain you of motivation. They are unable to energise you and therefore deplete you without refueling you.”
Physicians solve problems. We always look for ways to make bad situations better. We rarely say that we can’t help a patient at least in some fashion, even if we can’t cure them. More often than not, we treat patients within the confines of financial or administrative limitations we have no control over.
Physician burnout is a common topic these days. Doctors blame patients, insurance companies, healthcare administrators and the government for their job dissatisfaction.
When thinking about what might put me at risk, I have always thought of burnout as a consequence of external forces or immovable obstacles.
The other night I suddenly realized I have always had the wrong perspective on how burnout occurs. It doesn’t happen to us, we bring it on ourselves.
My wife and I have taken to reading daily reflections after dinner. One of our choices the other night was provocatively titled “Not Every Skill Is Profitable”. The subtitle was even more provocative: “In fact, some will just burn you out.” The writer referred to a South African blogger and businesswoman, Claire Burge, whose words in one instant changed my understanding of burnout:
“Burnout skills are the actions at which you excel, that people identify as your strong points but which drain you of motivation. They are unable to energise you and therefore deplete you without refueling you.”
Claire Burge was experiencing burnout and met with a career psychologist, Aine Mahony, who encouraged her to look at the difference between those skills that can drain you and those that can motivate and energize you. Burge writes:
“My entire career to date has been made up of my burnout skills and I have continually pursued these areas with intensity because everyone has always told me to work within my strengths. Aine states that this is why I am where I am.”
I realize now that my strength as a tenacious problem-solver can be a burnout skill if I choose to take on problems that are ultimately unsolvable or go beyond my scope or authority as an employed primary care physician. When I can’t fix such problems, I feel frustrated and drained. My strengths as a diagnostician, communicator and motivator are my energizing skills. I need to use and cultivate them more in order not to risk burnout in my career.
Three months after her first meeting with Mahony, Burge felt alive and energized by her career and the new direction she was taking it. Her blog post ends:
“Tonight over barbecued hamburgers and grilled mushrooms I tell Calvin about my day. My last words end something like this: It didn’t really feel like work today. I was having so much fun.”
How many physicians today say that over dinner with their spouse?
This context is so relevant! Many doctors move in our friendship circles and I see burnout too often.
Thank you for taking the time to take this broad concept and to niche it so well.
I appreciate the feedback and the email.
I am thankful that my experience is able to help others.
I’m not a doctor but work in a field where the demands are many and the visible results few. At 62, I find myself completely burned out with absolutely no motivation to continue working at what I’m considered a consumate expert. This information certainly resonates with me and may lead my life in a different direction. Thanks for sharing.