Physicians must care for themselves to truly help others

Editor's Note: Welcome to Medical Economics' blog section which features contributions from members of the medical community. These blogs are an opportunity for bloggers to engage with readers about a topic that is top of mind, whether it is practice management, experiences with patients, the industry, medicine in general, or healthcare reform. The opinions expressed here are that of the authors and not UBM / Medical Economics.

Physicians (MDs and DOs) are struggling to survive, both professionally and personally. We are at high risk for personal, professional, and financial loss. We trained 11+ years and invested (by my account) half a million dollars’ worth of time, opportunity cost, education, and personal freedom to achieve the high goal of physician healer in our professions and in our community. Then, we found mounting stress from every angle that is constantly increasing in magnitude and intensity.

Physicians-like all caregivers, parents, grandparents alike-tend to put their responsibilities for the care of others before their personal responsibilities to themselves. I call this caregiver/physician syndrome. Most neglect their own health, diet, and exercise for decades to their own detriment. The physician suicide rate has been, estimated at 300 to400 physicians per year, since the first report in 1958. Physician suicide is a public health crisis as one million Americans lose their physician to suicide every year. It is the primary cause of death in male residents and the second highest killer of female residents after cancer, as reported by Pamela Wible, MD, who is an expert advocating ideal medical practice.

Lack of autonomy, assembly-line medicine, blaming physicians with words like “burnout,” and graduates who cannot find residencies, are all factors in the high suicide rate. Hospitals, training programs, and med schools cover up suicides to avoid, “bad press.” Physician burnout and remediation programs are all the rage but as Wible says, “Burnout is bull#@$%. This is abuse!”

Don’t be a victim. “Physician, heal thyself.”

Find your Motivation. Is it power, achievement, money, pleasure, family, giving, religion, or even guilt that motivates you? Pick your stimulus toward health. Planning, action, persistence, and time will improve your physical and mental health.

Next: Put yourself first

Put your well-being first. As a physician and person, you can’t help anyone if you’re not stable, happy, and growing. William Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true,” in Hamlet. Steve Jobs, cofounder and former CEO of Apple said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Make a plan. Plan your yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals. “All successes begin with self-discipline. It starts with you,” says actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Prioritize a vegetable-based diet, get an hour of exercise daily, and avoid poisons/toxins like concentrated sugars, caffeine, alcoholism cigarettes, prescription drugs, and illicit drugs.

FURTHER READING: Addressing the main cause of physician burnout-the EHR

Persistence pays. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour,” wrote English playwright John Heywood, circa 1538. It took me four months of persistent phone calls to the radio station manager before he would grant my request for a meeting to pitch a radio show idea. I kept calling back month after month and then I finally insisted that I come in. After my brief spiel, he said, “Dr. Wax, Welcome to Rowan Radio! You’re a persistent pain in the a-- and I know you’ll show up!” Since 2002, I’ve hosted “Your Health Matters,” on Rowan Radio, 89.7 WGLS-FM at RowanRadio.com weekly at 5:30 p.m. EST. Similarly, building a solo practice from the ground up beginning in 2002, took three years and three part-time jobs until it could fly on its own.

Monitor your progress. Follow your passion and your plan.. There will be setbacks and dead ends. Don’t quit. Examine, strategize, readjust, and persist, while you keep your daily health regimen.

You only have one body, mind, and spirit. You must live there and only there. Manage your risks and get healthy. Health is a pursuit, not a destination. Make yourself a healthy home. Then, you can help others do the same, teach and lead by example. Physician, heal thyself.

Excerpted from “Physician, Heal Thyself,” Cleveland Association of Osteopathic Medicine 53^rd annual meeting 01/27/18 CAOMED.com.