Wellbeing: The Wrap-Up Episode!

Since summer, we’ve been exploring the concept of wellbeing as it relates to physicians, leaders, and other healthcare professionals. While we’ve only been able to scratch the surface here on the blog, I do think we’ve been able to give the subject a thorough exploration. 

We began by defining the two types of wellbeing you need to survive. These are, consequently, the types of wellbeing with the most peer reviewed research behind them, so they are widely accepted in the medical community. To review, wellbeing is commonly conceptualized in two ways: Subjective wellbeing (SWB) and Psychological wellbeing (PWB). 

These are derived from two separate traditions: hedonism and eudaimonism. 

SWB focuses on the hedonic aspect of wellbeing, the pursuit of happiness, and a pleasant life. PWB, on the other hand, focuses on eudaimonic wellbeing, the fulfillment of human potential and a meaningful life. 

PWB involves perceived thriving in the face of existing life challenges, such as pursuing meaningful goals, growing, and developing as a person, and establishing quality ties with others. 

Both types of wellbeing are strongly related to each other and affect each other. Both must be addressed to achieve lasting improvements in wellbeing. 

While SWB is primarily concerned with “feeling good”, PWB moves deeper, and is concerned with thriving in the face of existing challenges of life, making it the more comprehensive type of wellbeing. But only by combining both types can one create a lasting sense of autonomy, and self-efficacy. Individuals with high levels of PWB are likely to experience many positive and pleasurable feelings as well as difficult and uncomfortable ones. Yet, focusing solely on SWB would undermine the foundations of comprehensive human wellbeing.

The field within which a large majority of this study exists is the field of positive psychology. While once considered a sort of “psychology lite”, positive psychology has now earned a well deserved reputation as the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. 

What’s been discovered within the realm of physician (and other healthcare professionals) wellbeing, is startling, to say the least. The healthcare industry can be highly toxic, resulting in unprecedented levels of depression, suicide, suicidal ideations, physician turnover, presenteeism, and general dissatisfaction with work and life. But the condition that precedes these and is most readily associated with physician wellbeing is burnout. This, above all, is what we must be working against in our field. 

The Culprit: BURNOUT

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), workplace burnout consists of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. These symptoms, when left unchecked and unaddressed, lead to undiagnosed depression, higher levels of anxiety, divorce among married physicians, and others (mentioned previously). In fact, studies show that female physicians have a higher rate of divorce than male physicians. 

Another stressor that physicians live with from the beginning of their careers is massive amounts of student loans. At the time of graduation, US medical students have an average of $200,000 in student loan debt, which only grows once interest begins to factor in after graduation. This debt impacts career choices and adds financial stress on top of other work pressures that individual physicians face. Additionally, before the age of 55, more than 50% of surgeons are sued by patients for malpractice. And even when a case is dismissed or settled out of court, the average expense incurred on medical liability claims has been increasing dramatically over the years. 

Physicians face stress and struggle to find balance in four distinct areas of their life: work, home, health, and wealth. Each realm affects the others and impacts a physicians’ ability to properly perform their job.

What can we do? 

So what can be done to address burnout in the healthcare profession? Maslach identifies large workloads, low levels of internal reward, and lack of (or perceived lack of) fairness to all be root causes of burnout. Addressing these person-job mismatches in our organizations is a very good place to start when tackling burnout. 

Another stigma we must actively attack is the ability for physicians to seek mental health support. Many physicians who would benefit from psychological or psychiatric care do not seek support because they will be viewed as unfit by colleagues or their organization, or, in many cases, be stripped of their practice because they are not “well enough” to continue. 

We must work toward acceptance in allowing physicians to care for their own mental wellbeing openly so that they can effectively serve others without struggling against burnout.  

If you are looking for support or practical ways to thrive and reach your optimal level of wellbeing, get in touch to get started. Let’s create a customized program that’s perfect for you!