APMA News - January/February 2018 - S2

SUPPLEMENT TO APMA NEWS

YOUR APMA / PAGE 2

BEWARE BURNOUT:
APMA SUPPORTS CLINICIAN WELL-BEING AND RESILIENCE
Physician burnout is real, even for new doctors. You push yourself hard through school and clerkships to get a good
residency. You push yourself hard through residency to learn how to take care of patients, to learn good surgical
technique, and get a good job. You push yourself hard through the early years of your career to perform cases for your
boards, establish a solid reputation, and earn your keep. Sometimes, it can be too much.
For this reason, APMA has joined a coalition of other medical associations organized by the National Academy of
Medicine for the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience. APMA's statement of support is below. For
additional resources, visit https://nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing.

e, as members of the American
Podiatric
Medical
Association
(APMA), hereby resolve to join the
National Academy of Medicine in support of
combating clinician burnout. As the largest
organization of foot and ankle physicians
and surgeons in the country, APMA is deeply
committed to improving the overall well-being
of medical providers faced with ever-growing
stresses and burdens involved in providing
compassionate and competent patient care.
As podiatric physicians and surgeons, we
strive to provide unsurpassed excellence in
care to the American people who now suffer from record rates of diabetes, falls, aging
complications, wounds, repetitive walking
injuries, and debilitating foot pain. Yet in
the face of a growing shortage of capable
providers in the United States, with a predicted shortage of up to 105,000 doctors
in this country by 2030,1 the productivity
loss caused by burnout puts the health of
millions of Americans in peril. In a recent
survey of 14,000 practicing doctors, a majority (51 percent) now admits to suffering from
burnout, defined as loss of enthusiasm for
work, feelings of cynicism, and a low sense
of personal accomplishment. Burnout was
strongly associated with having too many
bureaucratic tasks, working too many hours,
the burden of electronic health records, and
the feeling that they were just a cog in the
wheel.2 Disempowered, overworked, and
beleaguered by paperwork: the noxious environment of health care today is leading 47
percent of doctors to accelerate their plans
to retire.3
This is a national public health crisis,
and APMA supports the National Academy
of Medicine in producing evidence-based,
effective ways to alleviate the burdens of the
modern physician. The problem is clear, and
it is paramount that leadership in government

Image courtesy of National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience

and medicine immediately begin to address
the overwhelming demoralization facing
practicing physicians.

The Complexities of Physician Supply and
Demand: Projections from 2015 to 2030. IHS
Markit, February 2017 https://www.aamc.org/
data/workforce/reports/439206/physicianshortageandprojections.html

Peckham, Carol. Medscape Lifestyle Report
2017: Race and Ethnicity, Bias and Burnout.
January 2017. https://www.medscape.com/
features/slideshow/lifestyle/2017/overview

2016 Survey of America's Physicians. The
Physicians Foundation by Merritt Hawkins.
Completed September, 2016. www.businesswire.
com/news/home/20160921005410/en/
Survey-17000-Physicians-Finds-ShiftingPractice-Patterns

In a recent survey of
14,000 practicing doctors,
a majority (51 percent)
now admits to suffering
from burnout, defined as
loss of enthusiasm for
work, feelings of cynicism,
and a low sense of
personal accomplishment.

https://www.nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing http://nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing https://www.aamc.org/data/workforce/reports/439206/physicianshortageandprojections.html https://www.aamc.org/data/workforce/reports/439206/physicianshortageandprojections.html https://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/lifestyle/2017/overview https://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/lifestyle/2017/overview http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160921005410/en/Survey-17000-Physicians-Finds-Shifting-Practice-Patterns http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160921005410/en/Survey-17000-Physicians-Finds-Shifting-Practice-Patterns

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - January/February 2018