Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, burnout has become increasingly common among physicians and other healthcare professionals. Characterized primarily by exhaustion and feelings of depersonalization and disconnection from patients and coworkers, burnout is a drag not only for physicians but also for the people who depend on them. Its causes are myriad and include demanding workloads, time constraints, and the emotional intensity of working in a healthcare setting. Unfortunately, burnout is more than just a bummer – it can also lead to physicians making costly mistakes that can cost patients their health and doctors their careers. Read on to learn how burnout can be prevented – as well as how an attorney-advisor can help if you're facing license revocation.

How Peer Support Programs Can Help Prevent Burnout

When it comes to understanding the pressures and stressors that doctors face on a daily basis, no one gets it quite like other physicians. That's why one key way healthcare facilities support their staff is through peer support and mentorship programs. By encouraging doctors to discuss their negative feelings openly and honestly, these programs can decrease burnout by making healthcare workers feel heard and cared for, as well as teaching them coping strategies. Participating physicians are trained in peer support, empathy, and active listening, which invites physicians experiencing burnout to open up and ultimately can help increase feelings of well-being and career satisfaction.

Unfortunately, for many physicians experiencing burnout, help arrives too late. Research links burnout to medical errors across specialties, with one survey indicating that physicians reporting symptoms of burnout may be twice as likely to make costly mistakes as their peers. The emotional exhaustion associated with burnout can also make doctors more likely to adopt a negative or uncaring attitude toward patients. Because poor medical care can have a significant impact on patients' lives, burnt-out physicians who goof up can sometimes face legal action and even have their medical license revoked. If you've made a mistake due to burnout and your professional license is at risk, you need a skilled attorney-advisor on your side to help you fight for your future.

How an Experienced Attorney-Advisor Can Help

If you're a physician who has accidentally caused harm to a patient due to stress or exhaustion associated with burnout and your professional license is now at risk, you need to contact a legal professional today. Building a defense that can help you maintain the career you've worked so hard to build can be a complicated and time-consuming task, and having a dedicated team of legal professionals on your side can make or break your case.

Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and his Professional License Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm have helped countless medical professionals nationwide protect their licenses from revocation and safeguard their reputations. Call 888.535.3686 or today or contact us online to start preparing your defense.