---
title: The ClusterF*ck of the Modern Physician Burnout Epidemic
description: "The Clusterfuck of the modern physician burnout epidemic: We clear up the semantics and give you 5 ways forward."
image: https://www.thehappymd.com/hubfs/images/2019%20IMAGES/2019%20BLOG%20IMAGES/stop%20physician%20burnout%20healthcare%20industry%20cluster%20fuck%20round%20on%20your%20people%20dike%20drummond.jpg
---

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## **The Creative Destruction of Physician Burnout **

[![prevent doctor burnout matrix](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/263814/da1e787d-095f-4485-9d4d-9a9bc4195d86.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/263814/da1e787d-095f-4485-9d4d-9a9bc4195d86)

# [The ClusterF*ck of the Modern Physician Burnout Epidemic](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/physician-burnout-is-a-healthcare-leadership-clusterfuck)

Posted by [Dike Drummond MD](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/author/dike-drummond-md)

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## **[![stop physician burnout healthcare industry cluster fuck round on your people dike drummond](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/2019%20IMAGES/2019%20BLOG%20IMAGES/stop%20physician%20burnout%20healthcare%20industry%20cluster%20fuck%20round%20on%20your%20people%20dike%20drummond.jpg?width=150&name=stop%20physician%20burnout%20healthcare%20industry%20cluster%20fuck%20round%20on%20your%20people%20dike%20drummond.jpg)](https://www.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-corporate-support-services-hub)What would you say about an industry that reliably burns out half of their most valuable workers ...**

- Workers that take over a decade to train
- Are the point of origin for 100% of gross revenue
- And for which there is already a massive shortage that will get much worse in the near future

**This same industry clearly understands that [physician burnout harms and kills patients and doctors](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/the-business-case-for-physician-wellbeing-a-triple-competitive-advantage) and has a massive negative effect on the organization's [bottom line](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/bid/284590/physician-burnout-and-the-enlightened-cfo).**

**What words are most appropriate to describe such insane behavior? **[even [Lemmings](https://www.nathab.com/blog/lemming-suicide-the-no-1-nature-hoax/) would appear to be more interested in their own survival]

When you realize the job demands on the average doctor are a clear and present danger to the doctors, the staff and their patients, **it is not uncommon for the term *ClusterF*ck* to come to mind**. Sometimes you will even let it slip with your outside voice ... right?

============  
**Build a System-Wide Physician Wellness Strategy**  
**Our [Corporate Support Services are HERE](https://www.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-corporate-support-services-hub)**  
============

## ** Hang on a second, is that term even accurate?**

**Follow along with me as we explore the semantics and I give you 5 simple ways to begin clawing your organization out of this morass ... no matter what you personally call it.**

============

This blog post is inspired by [this  article](https://qz.com/work/1225213/the-difference-between-a-snafu-a-shitshow-and-a-clusterfuck/) by [Corinne Purtill](https://qz.com/author/cpurtillqz/) at Quartz at Work = [qz.com/work](https://qz.com/work/1225213/the-difference-between-a-snafu-a-shitshow-and-a-clusterfuck/)

The article was widely shared on LinkedIn with lots of comments and interest from healthcare leaders in particular. It is a fascinating read on the semantics of avoidable disaster and correlates exactly with the issues that have caused the physician burnout epidemic.

> "The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name."
> 
> ~ Confucius

## **Let's follow the ancient wisdom and dig a little deeper here**

**Corinne Purtill writes in her article:**

> **"The term ClusterF*ck dates at least as far back as the Vietnam War,** as military slang for doomed decisions resulting from the toxic combination of too many high-ranking officers and too little on-the-ground information. (The “cluster” part of the word allegedly refers to officers’oak leaf cluster insignia.)"
> 
> [ *Hmm ... sounds familiar. When was the last time your CEO or CMO actually  shadowed you so they understand the whirlwind you live in? In our experience only 5% of senior leaders round on their people. The leadership ignorance of the front-line working conditions is staggering - even if the leader happens to be a doctor who was once a full time clinician. Crazy and 100% true.* ]
> 
> "Stanford business professor Bob Sutton goes further, describing clusterf*cks as “those debacles and disasters caused by a deadly brew of illusion, impatience, and incompetence that afflicts too many decision-makers, especially those in powerful, confident, and prestigious groups.”"
> 
> [ *wow, the further we go the more this makes sense* ]

*============**  
The Quadruple Aim Physician Leadership Retreat  
***Learn to Lead the Physician Wellness Movement   
Proven tools, 12 wks Full Support, 13 hrs. CME  
[**CLICK for Full Details**](https://support.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-physician-leadership-retreat-2019-fall)  
============

## ** Ms. Purtill's article goes on to lay out three ingredients required to whip up a top notch ClusterF*ck**

**The three "I"s**

**  
1) Illusion.   
**"A Clusterf*ck starts with the decision maker’s belief that a goal is much easier to attain than it actually is. "

[ *OK ... I will just kick in the illusions of 100% patient satisfaction and the concept of EMR Efficiency - an oxymoron if there ever was one. What leadership illusions would you add to this list?* ]

**  
2) Impatience.   
**"A misguided idea alone does not produce a clusterf*ck. The idea also needs a champion determined to shove it along, usually over the objections of more-knowledgeable underlings. "

[ *yes, what is required to fan the flames is some high-quality, top-down "leadership"!* ]

**  
3) Incompetence.   
**"When errors of information and timing meet blatantly stupid decisions by people who should know better, disaster tends to ensue." 

[ *Would the organizational symptoms of physician burnout qualify as a disaster? Medical errors, poor satisfaction and quality, turnover, disengagement and physician suicide?? My answer is yes. How about you?* ]

Purtill goes on to write:

> "All three of these failings share a common root: people in power who don’t (or won’t) acknowledge the realities of their environment, and who don’t push themselves to confront what they don’t know. 
> 
> The antidote to the cluster, Sutton argues, is a willingness to confront the possibility of failure and disappointment built into every new venture, and to plan accordingly."

## ** [![physician-leadership-activities-of-daily-leadership-adls-physician-burnout](https://www.thehappymd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/2017%20IMAGES/2017%20BLOG/physician-leadership-activities-of-daily-leadership-adls-physician-burnout.jpg?width=200&name=physician-leadership-activities-of-daily-leadership-adls-physician-burnout.jpg)](https://www.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-corporate-support-services-hub)5 Ways Healthcare Leaders can begin to turn back the tide of  ClusterF*ckery**

**  
1) Break through the ILLUSION that you know what is going on simply because of the spreadsheet metrics you review in committee meetings.  
**Get out of your office to [round on - or shadow - your people](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/physician-leadership-skills-the-1-habit-of-the-high-trust-physician-leader) every single day/week/month/quarter.

- Rotate the providers and sites you visit.
- Ask how you can help. Follow their lead.
- Do this EVEN IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A PHYSICIAN YOURSELF.
- And if you do it already ... do more.

**2) Simply ask your people what their biggest stressors are.** If you ask, they will tell and you can work together to address them.

You don't need a [fancy burnout or engagement survey](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/physician-burnout-the-fatal-flaws-in-the-burnout-survey-industry) that costs five figures here. The simplest survey simply asks, "What are the top three stressors in your work day?"

**3) Run a G.R.O.S.S. project ASAP.** Your people will be enthusiastic participants a [**G**et **R**id **O**f **S**tupid **S**tuff project](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/stop-physician-burnout-first-stop-doing-stupid-stuff-primum-non-actio-stupidus). You will rapidly learn over 100 examples of the exact leadership mandates and meaningless systems that fuel the ClusterF*ck in your organization. 

**  
4) Make sure your new projects are Zero Sum on your people's time and energy. **Any time your projects ask the providers or staff to take additional actions - more clicks, more protocols and forms, any additional actions - ask the Quadruple Aim Question first. "*What will effect will these additional responsibilities have on the health and wellbeing of our people*?".

Many people are at their last straw threshold. Work to make the time and energy required for your new mandates a Zero Sum to your people.

**  
5) Develop a Wellness Leadership Capability.** Send the doctor most interested in helping lead the Wellness Movement to our next [Quadruple Aim Physician Leadership Retreat](https://support.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-physician-leadership-retreat-2020). They will receive the proven tools and comprehensive support to neutralize the ClusterF*ck in your organization.

[CLICK HERE to learn more](https://support.thehappymd.com/quadruple-aim-physician-leadership-retreat-2020).

============

## **PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT:**

- Are the systems of care at your workplace an example of a ClusterF*ck?
- If so ... what are the things that cause the majority of your stress/burnout?
- What is the one stupid thing you want to stop doing immediately in your work day?

 

 Tags: [Physician Leadership](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/physician-leadership), [stop physician burnout](https://www.thehappymd.com/blog/topic/stop-physician-burnout)

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