Physician Distress: What to Look for and How to Help

As a healthcare leader, you know how stressed your physicians have been in the last year and a half under the lash of COVID-19. You also know about the stressors of practicing medicine in normal times. And you care about the well being of the skilled and dedicated people who are your primary assets.

That’s why understanding how to keep your people mentally and emotionally healthy is so important. There’s a wide range of troubling conditions and states of being that you can anticipate, respond to and help alleviate.

The terms are familiar: depression, burnout, chemical dependency, compassion fatigue, second victim syndrome, moral injury, PTSD, suicidal ideation.

The answer is noticing early signs and symptoms, early intervention, the provision of counseling and coaching resources that are easy for them to access and an overarching goal: building of a culture of care for the physicians in your organization.

That’s a culture in which their concerns are listened to and responded to. One in which everyone learns about the warning signs of troubling conditions and is willing and able to help a struggling colleague access first-rate well being resources. And more.

Learn more about these crucially important and effective ways to recognize signs of trouble and support your clinicians in our article Physician Distress: What to Look for and How to Help.