Control - When to use it and when to let it go.
I spend a lot of time talking about control with my physician clients.
The conversation often goes like this:
Client: I feel overwhelmed, constantly behind, and dread going into work every day.
Me: That sounds awful! I’m so sorry. Is there anything you feel is in your control to improve your experience?
Client: I don’t know. I just feel too overwhelmed to think about it.
As medical students and residents, we don’t have much control over our lives. We’re told where we must be, what we must do, and how to do it. We relinquish control to those who have authority over us because they hold the keys to our success, and we’re not really given a choice.
After we reach the finish line of all our training, we find ourselves in jobs where we’re finally given a little control over some things but often don’t know what to do with it. Most physicians are employed and told to function under a system with very few choices. We’re told how much time we have to spend with each patient, how many patients we should see, what protocols to follow, what medications to prescribe, where to refer patients, etc.
We’re used to this, so we often accept what’s given to us and try to do the best job we can. The result is that our employers will do everything they can to get the most work out of us in the shortest time possible to maximize income while we do everything we can to keep up and not feel like we’re failing.
This is a prescription for burnout! It often sneaks up on us without our awareness. Before we know it, we are buried under a backlog of messages, behind on charting despite spending hours at home trying to catch up, and never feeling like we have the time to truly care for our patients.
What’s the solution? It’s not simple. But one approach is to ask yourself:
“What is potentially under my control?”
And
“What DON’T I have control over that I just need to let go of?”
Here are some of the things you have control over.
How meticulous you are with charting. Check some boxes and write a few bullet points, bill it, sign it, close it. Is it possible to enlist a scribe or vocal recognition to ease the burden of charting?
Talking to your MA or nurse about what works best for both of you to get your work done and get out on time.
Exerting whatever influence you have on designing your schedule to fit your needs. Are you willing to give up some income for longer appointment times or seeing less patients? If you don’t ask, you’ll never know what is possible.
Offloading anything you possibly can from your in-basket. If there isn’t a system in place for this, can you help create one?
How much you allow negative experiences to ruin your day. By focusing on what goes well each day, you can transform a bad day into a decent one or even a good one.
You may not be able to change your institution’s EMR system, the personality of your clinic manager, or how often your supervisor broadcasts where you rank in chart completion. But you can let go of how much you let it negatively impact your self-image through practices such as mindful self-compassion.
If you feel burned out and stuck in a job that isn’t working out for you, it rarely means you’re defective and doomed to suffer through the rest of your career. You do have choices no matter how bad the situation may appear. Sometimes, you just need some help in seeing what those choices are, including finding a better situation elsewhere.
Coaching is a great way to help clear away some of the clouds of despair and see the possibilities.
If you or someone else you know is experiencing burnout, overwhelm, or seeking direction in their career, I would love to talk about how coaching can transform your life. Just contact me at joe@joeshermanmd.com or schedule a free video consultation.