In this episode of the Prosperous Doc®, our host Shane Tenny, CFP® invites Dr. Waxman to discuss the importance of physician well-being and his journey from clinician to physician well-being coach. Dr. Waxman gives strategies for improving physicians’ quality of life. Additionally, he reveals that an accidental presentation sparked his passion for burnout prevention while strangers’ stories strengthened it.
Burnout is one of the greatest challenges with which healthcare providers struggle today. As Dr. Dael Waxman explains, “Burnout happens when there’s a mismatch between the individual factors that a person brings to the system they work in and the system factors of that system.”
This dissonance often creates long-term emotional distress. To counteract this, Dr. Dael Waxman focuses on improving physician well-being.
Although people often use wellness and well-being interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. Wellness encompasses the physical health and evidence-based actions you can take for improvement. Well-being, on the other hand, is how you perceive your health, regardless of how healthy you are.
Improving well-being allows you to “have a better perception of how you’re navigating through the world, have better relationships with [coworkers], patients, and family,” and realize if you need to “change your situation,” says Dr. Waxman.
In this episode of the Prosperous Doc®, our host Shane Tenny, CFP® invites Dr. Waxman to discuss the importance of physician well-being and his journey from clinician to physician well-being coach. Dr. Waxman gives strategies for improving physicians’ quality of life. Additionally, he reveals that an accidental presentation sparked his passion for burnout prevention while strangers’ stories strengthened it.
Name: Dr. Dael Waxman
What he does: A physician and educator for over 35 years, Dr. Waxman is a recently retired professor of family medicine at Atrium Health and founder of Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting, and an Executive Coach at MD Coaches. Since 2010, he has focused on promoting physician well-being and preventing physician burnout.
Company: Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting
Words of wisdom: “You may take for granted the things that you do and just say, well that’s just part of my job, that’s what I do. But for somebody else, that might be very significant. You need to recognize that what you did actually made a difference in somebody’s life and celebrate that. Celebrate your achievements, even if they’re little small things.”
Connect: LinkedIn
Top takeaways from this episode
[04:02] Finding passion through interaction: Dr. Waxman’s passion for preventing physician burnout began with conversations with other healthcare providers after his presentations on burnout. People kept reaching out to him to tell him about their experiences with burnout. Realizing how many medical professionals are affected inspired Dr. Waxman to learn how to prevent physician burnout.
[05:05] Wellness vs. well-being: As Dr. Waxman explains, although wellness and well-being are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. Wellness encompasses your physical health and evidence-based actions you can take to improve it. On the other hand, well-being is how you perceive your health, regardless of how healthy you are.
[10:42] Your well-being matters, so nurture it: Dr. Waxman often uses the PERMA positive psychology model to help his clients improve their well-being. PERMA stands for positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievements.
[14:44] Clarity from COVID-19: COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on medical providers and has worsened burnout. However, now people are beginning to recognize that working constantly is unsustainable because people got cut off from each other and cut off from the things that give them a sense of joy, meaning, and purpose,” explains Dr. Waxman.
[17:56] Take time for yourself: You have to be able to enjoy your own life to help others. Set time aside for what is important to you and communicate your needs with your team. You can help each other be present for the moments that matter.
[22:28] Driven by the system: When burnout was first recognized, Dr. Christina Maslach found that most causes of burnout were individual but now problems are mostly systematic. To learn more about the frustrations of burnout, listen to Podcast Episode 12 | Behind Physician Burnout with Dr. Dike Drummond.
[26:00] Fixing the system: Burnout on the organizational level is often caused by a lack of flexibility, lack of community, and lack of recognition and other root causes as focused on in Podcast Episode 49 | Rethinking Burnout and Why it is Important to Address it at the Organizational Level with Dr. Paula Davis. Dr. Waxman cites Dr. Tait Shanafelt, who says that organizations need to focus on the main source of burnout in their organization, rather than trying to address every cause of burnout. Organizations can determine what is causing burnout in their organizations by asking their employees what issues they struggle with the most.
[35:41] Skills of tomorrow: For the next generation of physicians to thrive, they will need to learn how to care for themselves, in addition to caring for others.
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Disclaimer: Prosperous Doc podcast by Spaugh Dameron Tenny highlights real-life stories from doctors, dentists, and those whose work can help them to encourage and inspire listeners through discussions of professional successes and failures in addition to personal stories and financial wellness advice. Spaugh Dameron Tenny is a comprehensive financial planning firm serving doctors and dentists throughout the U.S. To find out more about Spaugh Dameron Tenny, visit our website at http://www.sdtplanning.com . You can also connect with our host, Shane Tenny, CFP®, at shane@prosperousdoc.com.
Compliance code: CRN202506-2527093
Top quotes from the episode:
[00:44] “[Physicians] are looked up to as role models for health and wellness. But unfortunately, you are often put in positions where you’re not able to create the wellness or well-being that you want in life, and many doctors struggle with working long hours, being short-staffed and countering systemic industry issues, or experiencing a toxic work environment.”
[6:10] “Well-being is more on the subjective side of things. It’s more of a subjective sense of how am I doing? How do I perceive my overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health?”
[21:28] “Burnout happens when there’s a mismatch between the individual factors that a person brings to the system they work in and the system factors of that system.”