A new Family Practice study is showing only 25% prevalence of physician burnout. Does this much lower number create ...

• a controversy

• a "winner" in the "we're less burned out than you" derby

• or just another data point

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The Quadruple Aim Physician Leadership Retreat
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There is a new -- and uniquely structured -- study in the Family Practice literature out this month showing a physician burnout prevalence rate of only 25% that is shaking up the widely accepted notion that over half of US doctors are most likely suffering from burnout.  (BTW, the background rate of burnout in the general population of non-physician professionals is widely quoted as being the same 25%)

Let me show you the three absolutely unique features of this research project which render it one-of-a-kind in the universe of physician burnout prevalence studies.  

This new study may be the first step in solving a mystery that has existed since the very first prevalence study was handed out over forty years ago.  I will show you this below as well. 

Physician Burnout: You don't get what you want in life ... you get this instead.

Desire is an interesting and disempowering emotion. When you really, really, really want things to be different and you wake up the next day -- and it is exactly the same as yesterday -- well that is just disappointing to say the least. 

We all have desires, but longing - all by itself - is never sufficient to actually acquire:
- Possessions
- Respect
- Power / Autonomy / Money / A two week vacation or anything else
... except by luck or family obligation.

You can put your hands on your hips, stomp your feet and make demands, but only your mommy is likely to honor that "request" and have the power to give you what you want. And those days are long gone.

How does desire work in adults - and doctors specifically?

In an adult physician - working in a healthcare organization - what you want (your desires) are irrelevant. You can't simply want something new about your job into existence.

Physician Burnout - how to reach out to a colleague in distress - [VIDEO TRAINING]

If you could save someone's life in a two minute conversation, would you speak up?

The situation I am talking about isn't even really a conversation most of the time. It is just you, caring enough to ask a question. If all it took was a question to save a person's life, would you ask it?

Would you ask even if it feels awkward, takes what feels like courage, might make them uncomfortable and you are not sure what to do if they reach back to you for support?

About twice a year I get asked to train a group of physicians for the worst reason possible. They want to learn about burnout because there as been a suicide on their medical staff recently. The people in the room who feel the worst about that are those who knew the doctor was in trouble and didn't reach out. They will take that pit of second guesses to their grave unfortunately.

We have an obligation to support our brothers and sisters in a time of need. Just find a good time, take your "hat" off and ask the simplest of questions. Here's a video to show you how ... 

How did Einstein get to be a physician burnout expert?

If you want to lower your stress levels, build a more balanced life and an more Ideal Practice, remember these two quotes from Albert Einstein and there is literally nothing you can't change.

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Einstein Quote #1:
"The definition of insanity is -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

Here is another way to say the same thing: If you always do what you've always done -- you will always get what you've always got.

The only way to change anything in your life is to take new actions.

Yes it is that simple.

• Stop venting.
• Decide what you really want.
• Take a baby step in that direction.
• Repeat.

Thank you Albert!

Physician Burnout PodCast - The Invisible Destroyer of Value and Quality 

Here is a podcast on a show called Relentless Healthcare Value hosted by Stacey Richter.

She asked some great questions and we went deep and wide into the Creative Destruction of Physician Burnout ... including both Canary and Coal Mine strategies for burnout prevention. Check it out.

USE THIS LINK to listen to the show ... it's a good one.

If there is a culture that eats physician burnout for breakfast, where do you find that restaurant and who is your server?
[ quick link to the answer]

There IS a culture capable of eating burnout for breakfast.

A healthy workplace culture is more than a Unicorn - something you have heard of but never actually seen. I have experienced it personally in sports and on work teams outside of healthcare. Even in high stress, difficult situations, that culture kept us connected, supporting and caring for each other. 

Unfortunately, the typical hostile, overloaded, Triple Aim whirlwind of a workplace culture in a healthcare organization will EAT YOU and your people for breakfast instead.

What about YOUR ORGANIZATION?

I invite you to put on your culture glasses for a moment. These are a lot like comic book X-ray spectacles -- only these lenses allow you to see the fabric of your workplace culture. Slide these glasses on and you can clearly see the informal attitudes and rules that govern the way we interact with each other while delivering patient care.

As you walk through your workplace, imagine your glasses can actually show you the answers to the questions below as thought bubbles above the heads of your people.

Inaugural Quadruple Aim Physician Leadership Retreat launching in Seattle, Washington, May 7 – 10, 2017 [Press Release]

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Learn More About the Retreat
and Secure Your Spot on the Early Bird Registration List
[ http://tinyurl.com/QuadAimLeader ]
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Burnout is rampant among American doctors. One recent survey shows 54% of practicing physicians suffering from at least one burnout symptom (1). Burnout’s pervasive negative effects include lower quality of care, patient satisfaction, higher error rates and an organizational culture of resistance and disengagement.

One of the causes of this modern epidemic is twenty years of single-minded industry focus on the Triple Aim – Cost, Quality and Population Health. In 2015 a group of healthcare leaders finally asked the obvious question, “How can our organizations provide high quality medical care if our people are burned out?” The answer revealed healthcare’s new Quadruple Aim. (2)

In these chaotic times a focus on this fourth aim – the health and wellbeing of all the people providing the care – will make the difference. When physician leaders learn the skills to reduce burnout and build a more supportive culture – actually living the Quadruple Aim – better care and satisfaction, fewer errors and more engagement will be the result, naturally and automatically.

TheHappyMD.com, Seattle, Washington 1/12/2017

TheHappyMD.com, the healthcare industry leader in burnout prevention training and coaching, announces the first Quadruple Aim Physician Leadership Retreat, May 7 – 10, 2017 in Seattle Washington.

2016 Year in Review at TheHappyMD.com [Press Release]

Burnout is rampant among American doctors, with recent studies showing as many as 54% of practicing physicians suffering from at least one symptom of this syndrome(1). Burned out doctors make more mistakes, provide lower quality care, get sued more often and have lower levels of patient satisfaction. (2)

The problem has worsened to the point that the CEO of the Mayo Clinic – John Noseworthy MD – recently advised that patients fire their doctor if they sense the physician is burned out, because it is “Not worth the risk of being treated by an impaired physician”. (3)

What should doctors and the organizations that employ them do to address this epidemic?

TheHappyMD.com, Seattle, Washington 1/5/2017

Dike Drummond MD, CEO and Founder of TheHappyMD.com announced today that he personally delivered the Burnout Proof Live Workshop to over 10,000 physicians, in 300 separate trainings, for 48 corporate clients in the calendar year of 2016.

This flagship workshop teaches the signs, symptoms, causes and effects of physician burnout. Attendees also learn how to recognize burnout in themselves and others and how to both reach out for and accept support.

“All physicians graduate with a gaping hole in their medical education around stress management and burnout prevention. Our workshop fills that hole in a public forum and starts to shift the culture of the organization.

Physician Burnout - The Fatal Flaws in the Burnout Survey Industry

The measurement of physician burnout is turning into a big business in the USA lately. Millions of dollars are changing hands for burnout, engagement and physician satisfaction surveys created and sold by some of the biggest medical groups and consulting organizations in the healthcare industry. Mayo, the Advisory Board, the MGMA come to mind immediately.

Look a short way into the future and you can see how physician burnout scores could easily be turned into a quality indicator and a hurdle the government and other payors could require for payment. It is a short stride to your physician burnout score becoming a prerequisite of logging onto the EMR system in your organization. 

Let's face it ... if they could put a chip in your gluteus maximus to measure burnout directly and electronically beam it to the scorecard on your CMO's desktop computer ... THEY WOULD.

In just one hour, answering these 10 questions can make 2017 your best year yet

In large part, your happiness in 2017 depends on the following thought experiment …

Imagine it is actually 12 months from now ... it is Christmas of NEXT Year ...
as you look back on your 2017 ...
you break out in a grin of satisfaction ... 
and say to yourself ... "wow, what a year" ...

What is driving this warm, happy feeling?

• What are the successes of 2016 (this year) you have been able to build on?
• What have you changed / accomplished / experienced / let go of in the year 2017?
• What are the old problems/challenges you have been able to solve - or simply let go of -for the first time?

What would it take to make 2017 YOUR Best Year Yet?

Take a single hour now to fill out the Physician's 2017 Breakthrough Process Worksheet -- and watch the difference it makes ...