Episode 215: Well-Being with Brenda Thompson
Why are physicians much more likely to experience burnout than other professions? Brenda Thompson has worked in various roles throughout her experience in Graduate Medical Education. Everything from accreditation specialist to GME manager to wellness and transition trainer. She’s the first to tell you that the reason we experience burnout is the systemic disregard for physicians as human beings.
These days residents are no longer putting their lives on hold to make it through all the requirements needed to become doctors. They’re getting married, having children, and realizing that there is nothing wrong with living their lives. But the medical profession has not caught up.
Instead, these residents are facing endless 80hr weeks, ongoing education, homes, families, and all the stresses inherent to practicing in their field. Mind you, their field may or may not be what they’re passionate about if they were improperly matched.
Brenda may not be a doctor, but she has seen what doctors go through and has been working on the inside to try and change the system.
This conversation was an amazing deep-dive into various facets of the typical physician’s life both personally and professionally and why things need to change. There’s no better place to start than with physician education. Listen in and learn ways that you can start making a difference in your organization.
““You can’t expect a physician to work 80 hours a week, every week, and also take care of their studies and families.””
In this episode:
[01:29] Brenda shares a little about herself and her job.
[03:43] Listen as Brenda speaks about the struggle ACGME is having around wellness.
[07:23] Why the rules for training physicians need to change with the times.
[11:03] What is depersonalization and what does it mean in the medical field?
[13:22] Learn more about match ranking and how it can be manipulated.
[18:01] Hear about the statistics involving physician suicide.
[20:10] Brenda discusses why she studied transpersonal studies psychology.
[24:47] Why somatic therapy and creative art therapy are two of Brenda’s favorite modalities.
[27:57] Errin shares her kick of encouragement.
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