Two Surgeons—a Veteran and a Newcomer—Talk Fighting COVID Burnout

 Burnout has always been a concern in medicine, and that concern has been amplified by the added stress of COVID-19. Many months into an unpredictable and distressing situation, we have both hung on to our mental health and professional passion by seeking out strategies that work for us. We offer them in two perspectives: veteran and relative newcomer.  

Dr. Lipkin: A Veteran’s Perspective

When lockdown began in March, we slowed down my practice for about 6 to 8 weeks, and then returned to full pre-COVID levels. It feels like the uncertainty has affected me most, since it has not been clear if and when things will get substantially better. Everyone is both experiencing and projecting persistent anxiety, stress and uncertainty. Isolation is a problem as well. I no longer have the time or ability to sit down with colleagues and vent over a beer, which was an outlet I counted on to mitigate burnout. At the same time, on a more concrete level, the pandemic has made everything we do incrementally more difficult, which is grindingly stressful. These tips are helping me cope and avoid burnout.

There are so many changes—just accept them. As COVID affects so many areas of practice, there’s a kind of low-grade stress that fluctuates with events. It seems like everything is a little bit harder. We have to shift some patient visits to telehealth and make sure they get COVID tests before surgery. We’re all looking over our shoulders, wondering who’s going to get us sick. There’s always the specter of more shutdowns and how they might affect our livelihoods. Budgets have been cut back, so hiring is frozen and there’s virtually no incremental spending. Everything will stay this way for now, so the best thing to do is accept that we’re going through a tough period and focus on the big picture, rather than the list of irritations.

Look forward to something. The day-to-day grind can get dreary, so plan something to look forward to professionally. You might sign up for a virtual meeting. I like to speak and teach, so I’ve done some industry webinars and an asynchronous course at the American Urological Association. New technology is something to look forward to as well. I’m looking forward to soon trialing the MOSES 2.0 holmium laser for kidney stones. Surgical technologies can make our jobs faster, easier, more enjoyable, and less stressful, so I’m excited to try this new 120Hz holmium laser, which promises to make my work more efficient. We might have a trial for single-use ureteroscopes to look forward to in the future as well.

Get moving—preferably outdoors. I started running during this crisis, and getting outside by myself to exercise has helped me clear my head. Running helps make me feel relaxed. Sometimes it’s hard to garner the motivation to actually do something different, but it pays off if you find something that works for you.

Be thankful. When you’re feeling bogged down in the midst of this crisis, it helps to be thankful for day day-to-day victories. We’re all fortunate to have the opportunity to impact people’s lives in a positive way. It can be wearying at times, but it’s worth being thankful for our work. And the appreciation patients are showing for their physicians right now frankly feels pretty good.

My son now has us do something called “roses, thorns and blooms” at dinner every night, where each of us names something positive that happened that day, something that bothered us, and something we’re looking forward to. It’s been a good reminder for me that good things happen every day, even if they’re small.