Doctors routinely operate under a level of stress that would overwhelm people who have not undergone medical training. To most physicians, stress is so much a part of their lives that they often don’t notice when it reaches unsustainable levels—and rarely think that it could be making them less effective in their practice.
While physicians may recognize in themselves the more obvious physical symptoms of stress such as chest pain, palpitations, headaches, muscle pains, panic/anxiety attacks and gastrointestinal distress, they ordinarily don’t recognize the more subtle symptoms such as irritability, mood swings, apathy, loss of focus, sleep disturbance, isolation, and an overall sense of not being happy as stress signals.
“Getting physicians to acknowledge and accept the fact that they are stressed and that the stress is affecting their moods and behaviors is the first step,” explains Liz Ferron, MSW, LICSW and a senior consultant for VITAL WorkLife “Getting them past the customary default position that they can handle it themselves comes next.”
Physician Well Being Resources is an employee assistance program offered by VITAL WorkLife that was designed specifically for physicians and their families. Research indicates that many physicians are reluctant to engage in face-to-face counseling with traditional EAP consultants—so Physician Well Being Resources give doctors the option of talking to either a physician peer coach, or a licensed master’s- or doctorate-level mental and behavioral health consultant who has extensive experience with healthcare clients.
“My experience has been that while physicians prefer talking to peer coaches about issues directly affecting their careers, they’re often more comfortable talking to someone outside the profession about matters relating to their marriages, their upbringing or strained family relationships,” notes Ferron.
Available 24 hours a day, Physician Well Being Resources offers confidential counseling, coaching and support—by telephone or in person. With peer coaches, physicians are assured confidentiality by being able to call and talk one-on-one with a professional outside their organization or geographic region at a time and place that’s convenient for them.
If a physician has an emotional or behavioral health concern, a VITAL WorkLife senior consultant will work with the doctor to assess his or her condition, evaluate various modalities of treatment and develop an action plan. Regardless of the type of services provided, confidentiality is assured around all issues other than where VITAL WorkLife is required by law to report to the institution and/or licensing board.
According to Ferron, the good news is that once physicians recognize they have a problem, they are more proactive and have greater success at resolving their issues than the general EAP client. “These are extraordinarily intelligent people,” she notes. “They’re skilled problem solvers and very disciplined in their approach to almost everything they do. As a result, most physicians move ahead very quickly in the work they do with us.”
Physician Well Being Resources includes a wide range of support services that can prevent or reduce stress in a physician’s life, ranging from marriage and individual counseling to financial and legal services, to concierge services designed to maximize the quantity and quality of a physician’s personal time.
“Our hope is that Physician Well Being Resources benefit will help physicians avoid the cycle of stress and burnout that often leads to depression for physicians and poor outcomes—not just for patients but for healthcare organizations that employ them,” notes Ferron.
