Stress, Exhaustion, and Burnout. Oh, My!



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February 20, 2013

Stress, Exhaustion, and Burnout. Oh, My!

If you’re like me, you love what you do. Which might explain why I go into deep soul-searching mode when I’m unhappy at work. How can the thing I love so much be getting me down?

It turns out that stress, exhaustion and ultimately the burnout they cause hit women in uniquely detrimental ways. This month at the WMDR blog, Dr. Dike Drummond shared his two-part series on the epidemic of physician burnout and what it means for women. (If you haven’t read the 2012 study on burnout, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, you should–it’s eye opening and alarming.)

It goes without saying that stress is major cause of burnout, so this month, we ask you to take the WMDR Quick Poll on stress in your life. What’s the biggest cause of your stress?

We strive to pack every WMDR newsletter with issues and articles that are especially relevant to women physicians. (This month, we also looked at how women professionals feel about women doctors, whether or not gender affects one’s ability to be a leader, and more.) If there’s a topic you’d like to see covered, or if you want to share stories from the front lines, send us an email.

— Linda Brodsky & the WMDR Team


Epidemic Physician Burnout Affects Female Doctors Differently, Part 1 Guest blogger Dr. Dike Drummond talks about the epidemic of physician burnout, how it affects women differently, and the three leading symptoms of burnout.
Epidemic Physician Burnout Affects Female Doctors Differently, Part 2 In the second part of his series of burnout, blogger Dr. Dike Drummond lays out the stages (know the signs to catch it early) and some simple advice for recovery.
Do Women Professionals Prefer Women Doctors? A LinkedIn Perspective It was a simple question posed in a LinkedIn professionals group. The opinions were strong; the results anything but conclusive.
Who Makes a Better Physician Leader? Women, Men, or the Best Person Available? We posed the question, and you answered unequivocally: It depends on the person. So what does it take for women physicians to become the be recognized as leaders and achieve positions of leadership?

Quote of the Month

“Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time.” — Alvin Toffler

Our Monthly Poll
This month:
What’s the biggest stresser in your life?

Take our monthly poll.

Headlines for Women in Medicine

Stress is an expected part of being a doctor. Women physicians face additional stresses and have different ways of handling stress. These two articles give us insights into stress and the woman physician.

Hotchkiss,N., Early, S. “The Differences in Keeping Both Male and Female Physicians Healthy”. The Health Care Manager 28:4 (2009) 299-310.

Berg, S. “Everyday Sexism and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women”. Violence Against Women 12:10 (2006) 970-988.