In response to the changing landscape of medicine, Nisha Mehta, MD and Michelle Mudge-Riley, DO have built a program to focus on helping physicians create freedom in their medical careers. Spaugh Dameron Tenny, LLC sponsored the first seminar of its kind in Charlotte, North Carolina called "Creating Freedom as a Physician." Dr. Mehta and Dr. Mudge-Riley fostered inspiring discussions around lifestyle design, negotiation and business skills, developing side income streams, as well as ways to stay ahead of changes in healthcare.
Dr. Mehta says, "I'm hearing so much about practice buyouts, loss of autonomy, salary cuts, and physician burnout. The landscape of medicine is changing, but are we as physicians changing with it?... One of the biggest goals of my work is to encourage physicians to really pause and think about what they want from their careers, and encourage them to push past the inertia to create the life in medicine that works for them."
The physician wellness seminar was an intimate and engaging event attended by physicians with a range of specialties, from Obstetrics and Gynecology to Orthopedic Surgery, with physicians from private and public practices. Dr. Mehta shared this info-graphic from an Athena Insights survey when explaining why physician burnout matters to her:
According to the Athena Insights survey, over half of doctors in the United States are experiencing some form of workplace stress and three-fifths of doctors wouldn’t recommend their career to their offspring. Physicians go through extensive training to reach the title of MD, which comes with a large amount of responsibility to their families and communities, initiating a feeling of overwhelming stress.
The American Journal of Medicine found that when physicians experience workplace stress and burnout, the quality of care provided to patients decreased. Additional repercussions of burnout can include decreased productivity, irritability, absenteeism, and a potential increase in adverse patient safety incidents. Workplace stress can also impact the quality of life by disrupting an ideal work-life and personal life balance.
Burnout typically manifests with three standard signs. The first of these signs being emotional fatigue. Emotional fatigue, as defined by the North Dakota Professional Health Program, presents itself as an inability to unwind outside of work and return in a refreshed state. Emotional fatigue can lead to irritability, insomnia, and physical fatigue, as well as dread about work. The second indication of physician burnout is compassion fatigue, also known as depersonalization. A recent article by Medical News Today describes depersonalization as being cold towards patients while using cynicism and sarcasm when interacting with patients and coworkers. The third and final sign of burnout is the lack of personal accomplishment. Doubting the quality or impact of work can be an indication of workplace stress and burnout.
The American Association for Physician Leadership recommends adding these strategies to help reduce workplace stress, and in turn, decrease physician burnout:
A workspace should enable a clear and focused mind. Overflowing charts, endless sticky notes, and clutter can lead to disorganization and increased stress.
Taking five minutes to stretch your legs, getting a drink of water, going outside for fresh air are all ways you can step away and give your brain a moment to breathe.
Setting and respecting your personal boundaries is a great way to ensure you are not constantly operating in overdrive. Being realistic in your planning and allowing time to properly complete tasks will go a long way in helping maintain a comfortable workload.
Refraining from working on your days off and keeping a balance between work activities and social activities will go a long way in ensuring you do not focus on work when you are off the clock.
At Spaugh Dameron Tenny we want to help our doctors with workplace stress as much as we can. One of the areas that doctors often mention as being a pain point is their financial standing and plans. We work with these doctors to eliminate their worries and fears about student loan repayment, estate planning, retirement planning. We have the understanding that doctors have very different lives than that of other professionals, and the burden it brings. John Dameron, partner at Spaugh Dameron Tenny, LLC says "As a financial planning firm that specializes in physicians' financial well-being, we are happy to be a part of a program that can help medical professionals address their sources of stress and develop a healthy work-life balance."
Our team is here to guide you through, and ease, your financial stresses. Schedule a no-obligation financial consultation with one of our Advisors today.
About Nisha Mehta, MD:
Dr. Mehta is a physician, writer and speaker. Along with being a Diagnostic Radiologist for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, she is the founder of the Physician Side Gigs group with close to 15,000 physicians looking to pursue passion projects or income streams outside of traditional clinical medicine. Dr. Mehta has been featured in print among various media outlets, has spoken in numerous venues, and is active on social media. You can view her work that has been featured in Forbes, KevinMD.com, Doximity, etc. on her website.
About Michelle Mudge-Riley, DO, MHA, RD, LD, CLT:
Dr. Mudge-Riley is the founder of Physicians Helping Physicians. She is a results-oriented entrepreneur, evidenced by starting three successful companies and serving as Entrepreneur in Residence for a private liberal arts University. Fifteen years ago, she transitioned from a career as a physician into Corporate Wellness and Employee Benefits, specializing in genetics and genomics benefits research, design and application. Over the years, she has conducted seminars and spoken on topics related to change management, medical literature interpretation, food allergies, gluten intolerance, career transition, motivation, wellness and health education. She has also been published in a variety of books and journals.
Info-graphic source: Athena Insight
Securities, investment advisory services and financial planning are offered through qualified registered representatives of MML Investors Services, LLC. Member SIPC. 4350 Congress St., Suite 300 Charlotte, NC 28209. 704-557-9600. Spaugh Dameron Tenny, LLC is not a subsidiary or affiliate of MML Investors Services, LLC.
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Partner and Financial Planning at Spaugh Dameron Tenny.
