The Impact of Feeling Valued

By Helane Fronek, MD, FACP, FASVLM, FAMWA

I’ve been told — to be used and then replaced, like my optometrist. While physicians were initially blamed for burnout, we now know that faulty systems bear the biggest responsibility for this corrosion in our experience. What used to sustain physicians working even longer hours over decades of practice was the satisfaction of providing good care and fulfilling relationships with patients. Our current system impedes the achievement of these important goals. As a result, most physicians would not encourage their children to follow in their footsteps.

I’ve wondered whether systems that value the people who work in them are a thing of the past, outdated in our fast-moving, technologic world. A recent experience gave me hope and illustrated the positive outcome of feeling valued.

plauded. One housekeeper received a warm send-off to retirement, with acknowledgments of her excellent work and many smiles and hugs. The crew’s pride in their work had been obvious throughout the trip; each person provided superb attention to every aspect of their job. Among people who, like physicians, work with little time off over stretches of months, this level of service with a positive attitude struck me as difficult to maintain. As I watched their supervisors beam with admiration and the joy on the crew’s faces, I realized this was the result of a culture where workers feel valued.

READING THE LETTER STATING THAT MY optometrist was retiring, I was stuck that it said nothing about his many years of service, the excellent care he provided, or that he would be missed. I looked forward to my visits with this affable, conscientious, caring professional. I trusted him. It saddened me that his group had not valued him enough to acknowledge his contributions, and only felt the need to inform me who was replacing him.

The epidemic called burnout is worsening among physicians. We feel disappointed in a system that prioritizes profits over attentive care; that requires we invest years of our lives and significant finances learning skills and then deprives us of the time and resources to use those skills to care for patients. Instead, we spend time inputting data and billing information. Many physicians don’t feel valued: “We are like widgets,”

On the final evening of a cruise, as we casually gathered in the lounge, the atmosphere was surprisingly electric. Every member of the staff — the engineers, waitstaff, housekeepers, and expedition team — was dressed elegantly. As each division head stood proudly, the crewmembers paraded across the room and we enthusiastically ap-

If we truly respected and valued each physician on our staff, how would we treat them? How would we design their workload so they could focus on what was most important? What would we take off their plates? How would we acknowledge their value to us and to the patients we serve? While limited in its scope, this new perspective might begin to heal the culture we work in and restore physicians’ pride and satisfaction in their work. A positive impact on patient care and our profession is the likely result.

Dr. Fronek is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a Certified Physician Development Coach, CPCC, PCC.