WORCESTER MEDICINE
Workforce Vitality
How I Rediscovered My Love of Medicine in the Midst of Burnout, with the Help of an Artificial Intelligence Scribe At the end of the consultation, I make sure to reiterate the care plan, so it’s laid out specifically in the note. That way, the next step is always clear, which is especially useful when other practitioners are involved. I know that when I leave that consultation room and have a full inbox of patient-related messages to catch up on, I can work through those in a timely manner. I can balance both my roles more effectively, ensuring I’m delivering projects my organization is relying on— without neglecting my patient documentation. I’m sure all my fellow practitioners have experienced something like this: toward the end of a consultation about knee pain, the patient also asks questions about their existing medications, or unrelated chest pain. When I was burned out, adding an extra, unexpected factor to the cognitive burden could be really frustrating. However, I realize there are so many reasons why patients do this. They might live a long way away, or have a deductible that limits the number of consultations they can afford, or maybe they don’t feel like their other concerns are worth another appointment. They have my attention for 20 minutes, and they want to get the most out of that small window. We’re there to give patients a safe space to talk through their worries, and my AI Scribe means I have the time to be present with
them in what is often a vulnerable moment. It’s no surprise that my patient scores have risen again since I started using this tool. Being present at home with your family and friends is so important, too. At the height of my burnout, excessive pajama time was making it hard to be as attentive as I wanted to be with my young family. Before my AI Scribe, tee-ball games, bath time, and family dinners used to be overshadowed by thoughts of the hours I’d need to spend completing documentation after my child went to bed. Now, if I ever need to log on in the evenings, it’s a matter of minutes as I approve a note. I think we’d all agree that your home team comes first, but you’re also in the business of caring for people—and you need to care for yourself too. The AI Scribe is, I think, a piece of the puzzle that can really help clinicians achieve balance between all those different forces. An AI Scribe helped me leave that fog of burnout and get myself back to a place where I’m happy and productive at work—and giving my patients the attention and support they deserve. In my role as APC chief of primary care, I’m now looking at opportunities for more of my colleagues to adopt this program, in the hope that it will help them alleviate their burnout too. + Lauren Katz, FNP APC Chief of Primary Care at Reliant Medical Group Primary Care APC in Family Practice at Neponset St Lauren.katz@reliantmedicalgroup.org
has been an emphasis on physician self-care, which is important, the focus has been turning to what others can do to support the health of physicians. In the words of a recent Surgeon General report, “We must shift burnout from a “me” problem to a “we” problem” [1]. I will describe one resource available to Massachusetts physicians, whose mission is to support physician health. That resource is the Physician Health Services, Inc. (PHS), a fully owned subsidiary of the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS). PHS is a physician health program (PHP), and most states have a PHP like PHS. Now in its 30th year, PHS was preceded by the MMS Impaired Physicians Committee. The creation of PHS brought not only a more politically correct name, but a real emphasis on prevention and wellbeing. And all of the services that we provide are free of charge, thanks to the generous support of MMS, the malpractice carriers, healthcare
A Health Resource Designed for Physicians
Mark J. Albanese, MD
P
hysicians have been aware of the scourge of burnout since well before COVID, which played a big role in accelerating the burnout epidemic. The health challenges of physicians resulting from burnout have been well documented. While there
Fall 2023
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