It’s hard to ignore that many doctors are angry, frustrated and apprehensive about the future of their medical practices. In fact, the majority of the 2400 physicians who responded to a 2010 survey by Merritt Hawkins on behalf of The Physicians Foundation expressed fairly high levels of concern about healthcare reform:
Uncertainty about the future is adding stress to already stressful careers. Many physicians are experiencing genuine emotional pain about the direction their careers are taking, perceived ingratitude and a diminished level of respect either for themselves specifically or physicians in general.
“Many physicians feel they spent the best years of their lives preparing for a career that no longer exists,” explains Dr. Alan Rosenstein, medical director for VITAL WorkLife. “There’s not just anger but some genuine emotional pain associated with the changes they’ve experienced and expect to occur.”
While physicians are typically more gifted than the general population at managing their emotional responses to extremely challenging work situations, the passage of the reform law after years of declining income and autonomy has resulted in a perfect storm of physician discontent and “organizational toxicity” in many healthcare settings.
When the majority of physicians in a healthcare organization are experiencing widespread, intense and energy-sapping negative emotions at the same time, healthcare organizations may start to see their physicians distancing themselves from their patients, co-workers and the healthcare organizations who employ them. Feeling that nobody cares about them, they’re less inclined to care about their work.
“While administrators don’t have to agree or sympathize with all of their physicians’ concerns, it’s important to address the emotional overload before productivity and patient safety suffer,” says Rosenstein. “You don’t just want to retain your physicians, you want to keep them engaged.”
Chances are your organization has several physicians who not only lend a sympathetic ear to their colleagues, but are naturally inclined to see the positive side of an issue: “More people will have insurance and get care” than the negative: “The newly insured will overwhelm our capacity.” They enjoy practicing medicine and serve as a reminder to others why they entered the profession. In leadership research, they’re called “toxin handlers.”
According to Kevin Grigsby, vice dean for faculty and administrative affairs at Penn State College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, toxin handlers alleviate organizational pain in a variety of ways. In formal and informal meetings with individuals and groups, they:
While toxin handlers often act as circuit breakers, over time and without organizational assistance they can be overwhelmed and develop toxic attitudes themselves. Waiting until organizational pain “blows over” often compounds the problem. Organizations are better served by taking immediate action.
In the current healthcare environment, it’s safe to assume most physicians are experiencing some level of emotional pain. Don’t wait until they’ve disengaged to take action. If you haven’t already engaged them in a dialogue, let them know you’re aware of the challenges they’re facing, grateful for their efforts and want to help in any way you realistically can.
“The first step is letting your physicians know you care about their wellbeing and career satisfaction,” says Rosenstein. “In many cases what you do is less important than the fact you did something at all.”
Among the most effective things healthcare organizations can do are:
Not sure how best to address physician dissatisfaction in your organization? Want to know more about how other healthcare organizations are handling similar issues? VITAL WorkLife can help.
“Healthcare organizations across the country are struggling with similar issues,” notes Rosenstein. “VITAL WorkLife is uniquely positioned to help you put best practices to work.”
VITAL WorkLife offers training, workshops and other consulting services to address the specific needs of healthcare organizations, whether it’s change management, stress management and reduction, handling workplace conflict, or team or individual coaching, to name a few. The goal of our product offerings is to help organization leaders, physicians and their co-workers constructively and effectively address issues that affect their wellbeing—on and off the job.
For more information, contact us!