This book explores the important topic of mental health and related problems among physicians, including trainees. The all-too-common human response of “suffering in silence” and refusing to seek help for professional and personal issues has ramifications for physicians who work in safety-sensitive positions, where clear-headed judgment and proper action can save lives. Problems covered include burnout, disruptive and unprofessional behaviors, impaired performance, traumatic stress, addiction, depression and other mood disorders, and suicide. The authors of this work include psychologists, psychiatrists, and other physicians who diagnose and treat a range of patients with stress-related syndromes. Among their patients are physicians who benefit greatly from education, support, coaching, and treatment. The book's content is organized into three parts with interconnecting themes. Part I focuses on symptoms and how physicians’ problems manifest at the workplace. Part II discusses the disorders underlying the manifesting symptoms. Part III focuses on interventions at both the individual and organizational levels. The major themes investigated throughout the book are developmental aspects; mental health and wellbeing as a continuum; and the multifactorial contributions of individual, interpersonal, organizational, and cultural elements to physician health. This book is intended for anyone who works with, provides support to, or professionally treats distressed physicians. It is also intended for healthcare leaders and organizations that are motivated to improve the experience of providing care and to change the culture of silence, such that seeking help and counsel become normal activities while minimizing stigma. By writing this book, the authors aim to outline effective pathways to well-being and a healthy work-life balance among physicians, so that they may provide optimal and safe care to their patients.

THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS Explore this innovative new volume covering the growing mental health crisis amongst healthcare practitioners In The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Practitioners, accomplished researchers and authors Esther Murray and Jo Brown deliver an insightful exploration of the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing mental health improvement within the healthcare system through a range of practical examples and cases. The book also explores the possibilities available to professionals to talk about their mental health using “borrowed” words and concepts, and uncovers structural and social concerns that prevent practitioners from accessing the time and space they need to address their mental health concerns. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of topics such as: Borrowed words in emergency medicine and how moral injury makes spaces for talking Finding a voice through medical student engagement in creative enquiry Using language and discourse to explore queer identities in medicine Stress and mental wellbeing in emergency medical dispatchers and paramedics Perfect for healthcare students, professionals, and researchers in the fields of medicine, medical education, psychology, and sociology, The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Practitioners will also earn a place in the libraries of healthcare management professionals and regulators.

Patient-centered, high-quality health care relies on the well-being, health, and safety of health care clinicians. However, alarmingly high rates of clinician burnout in the United States are detrimental to the quality of care being provided, harmful to individuals in the workforce, and costly. It is important to take a systemic approach to address burnout that focuses on the structure, organization, and culture of health care. Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being builds upon two groundbreaking reports from the past twenty years, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, which both called attention to the issues around patient safety and quality of care. This report explores the extent, consequences, and contributing factors of clinician burnout and provides a framework for a systems approach to clinician burnout and professional well-being, a research agenda to advance clinician well-being, and recommendations for the field.

The book examines how the related disorders of burnout, anxiety, depression, and addiction, can lead to suicide and explores the influence of gender, culture, aging, and personal resilience on outcomes. In addition, it investigates ways to mitigate the impact of these factors to improve physician health and well-being.

Edited by experts on burnout, five sections lay out the scope of the challenge and outline potential interventions. The introduction, which discusses the history and social context of burnout, provides psychiatrists who may be struggling with burnout with much-needed perspective. Subsequent sections discuss the potential effects of burnout on clinical care, contextual elements that may contribute to burnout, and, potential systemic and individual interventions.

This book advocates for a new culture--one that is supportive of the health and well-being of health professionals to the benefit of the patients and populations they serve. A variety of case examples, vignettes, and illustrations serve not only to frame the scope of the challenges clinicians face but also to inspire readers to apply key concepts to their own situations. The inclusion of "positive practices," discussion questions, and written exercises also help readers to engage with the material and integrate what they have learned into their practice.

This thoughtful and timely book offers physicians and trainees a wide range of insights and strategies to help ensure not only a healthy lifestyle and sense of wellbeing but the best possible career in medicine as well. With evidence and evidence-informed practices provided by experts, this title affirms the culture of medicine while embracing the fundamental, enduring sense of physicians’ calling and affirming the importance of physicians as individuals whose health and wellbeing has intrinsic value and value to others. Organized in three parts, the first part focuses on the nature of the health professions and on advancing a culture of wellbeing in medicine. The second part focuses on threats to physician wellbeing, including mistreatment during training and burnout, to name just a few. The third part outlines approaches to strengthening physician resilience, such as the sustenance drawn from healthy relationships, mindfulness approaches, and optimal approaches to exercise, nutrition and sleep. The Handbook of Personal Health and Wellbeing for Physicians and Trainees is an invaluable, handy resource for physicians and trainees. Physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, and social workers will also find the work of great interest.