SW Florida doctors feeling burned out, seeking help to manage stress

Physician burnout and the stress of trying to strike a balance between career and family life might be a larger problem than medical industry officials realize.

Confidential psychological counseling rolled out last year in Collier County has surpassed expectations, and a national survey shows burnout is ever present.

Lee County also began a physician wellness program last year, and several other Florida counties have started one or will soon, said April Donahue, executive director of the Collier County Medical Society.

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Duval County plans to offer a service to doctors there, and Palm Beach, Manatee and Sarasota counties might be following suit, she said.

Since the counseling service began in February 2017 for Collier physicians, 13 doctors have tapped it for a total of 40 counseling sessions, Donahue said. In March alone, mental health professionals held 12 sessions with local doctors.

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When the program was announced last year, Donahue estimated a low end of five doctors using it, to as many as 15 doctors in the first year.

“It seems like it was appreciated earlier than we had hoped,” she said.

The Center for Psychology, the practice being used, provided a report that physicians went for counseling to address burnout, work and life matters, and general stress management, Donahue said.

The counseling is outside physicians’ personal insurance coverage to avoid repercussions with their professions. The medical society is picking up the annual tab of roughly $10,000 to $15,000 for the entire program.

“We are definitely going to keep it up,” Donahue said, adding that the charitable foundation with the medical society has agreed to provide financial support. There also have been private donations.

Nationally, a survey of physicians published this year found career burnout is widespread: 42 percent of more than 15,500 doctors in 29 specialties reported experiencing burnout, according to Medscape, a website resource for medical professionals.

In addition,15 percent of respondents reported either severe depression or feeling down.

The 10 specialties with doctors experiencing the most burnout are critical care, neurology, family medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, internal medicine, emergency medicine, radiology, physical medicine, urology and immunology, according to the 2018 Medscape survey.

The burnout rate is equal, at 42 percent, for both employed and self-employed doctors.

Contributing to depression were the job, finances, family life, romantic relationships and doctors' health.

Forty percent of the doctors who experienced burnout or depression said it did not affect their patient care, yet 33 percent said they are easily exasperated with patients.

In addition, 32 percent said they are less engaged or actively listening to patients, and 29 percent said they are less friendly.

Physician burnout has been trending up since 2013, the first year that Medscape began its survey. In 2013, the survey found that 40 percent of physicians were experiencing burnout. Last year, 51 percent of respondents said they experienced it.

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