Cheerful Physicians Alllow for Sound Medical Advice! By Rebecca Busch Heathcare Advocate

Rebecca Busch Heathcare Advocate talks about Do What you Love and you'll never work a Day.

At some point in their life, many people have often heard the saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day.” Passion driven people, the ones that enjoy an intellectual challenge, have that “thing” that makes them go. They tend to “do” for the sake of their passion versus “work.” For some, this advice of do what you love might not be the most sensible or economically sound. Nonetheless, for physicians, who see their job as a calling, it rings true.

A Sept. 10, 2012 write-up from the American Medical News website talks about a study which examined a nationwide survey of 1,504 primary care physicians to determine how satisfied physicians were when treating patients with long-term, challenging conditions, for example weight problems or nicotine or alcohol addictions.

The research letter, located in the Archives of Internal Medicine released on Aug. 27, 2012, found that physicians who saw medicine as a calling were more prone to feel fulfilled when managing those disorders. This sense of satisfaction helped physicians from feeling burned out. Feeling burned out includes feelings of mental exhaustion and depersonalization, and nearly half of all physicians have symptoms of burnout, according to an Archives of Internal Medicine study released on Aug. 20, 2012.

It's very important to understand why doctors burn out, given that the emotions may affect how the physician treats his or her patients. The article suggests that physicians who feel burned out are more inclined to fault their patients for these conditions. As a patient advocate, Recently I received a phone call from a wife who had oversight of her husband’s health. The immediate serious “drama” was trying to decide how to handle a clot that was blocking blood flow to the leg. The wife was getting inconsistent information from a variety of doctors. My point is not to explain the medical information but the response of one doctor: “Why do you want a second opinion,” the doctor lashed out to the wife standing next to her husband. She said, “because the other doctor told me his problem was a different diagnosis.” He replied, “Well if you don’t want to follow my direction you and your husband (bed ridden on all sorts of IV medications) can just leave and go to another hospital!” The doctor glares at the wife and snarls “and by the way your husband has cancer as well!” and the doctor stormed out of the room.

Clearly this exchange represents a doctor who is not happy and clearly under stress. As a patient, you want a doctor who will feel satisfied treating you. Doctors who feel more satisfied have better relationships with their patients. This can lead to more personal, effective treatment from your physician.

The article quotes study co-author John D. Yoon, MD, an assistant professor in the University of Chicago’s Section of Hospital Medicine and associate faculty member at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, as saying, “Previous research in calling has found that those who view work as a calling are more engaged with their work, spend more time working and view the job as more central to their lives.”

This in turn leads to higher quality of care from the physician and a more comfortable relationship between doctor and patient. Understanding how a physician’s reasons for going into medicine translate into how effectively he or she treats his or her patients can help lead to more effective, high quality care across the board. So if you want to enjoy, and truly benefit from, your trip to your doctor’s office, find a doctor who will enjoy treating you. Thanks for reading!

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Rebecca S. Busch,

Healthcare Advocate

Rebecca S. Busch, founder of Medical Business Associates, Inc., is a problem solver. She has made a career of taking complex healthcare financial problems and finding simple, implementable solutions. Rebecca’s problem solving abilities have enabled her to find money on the table, reduce costs, decrease risk, identify and mitigate healthcare fraud schemes, operational breakdowns, and medical and financial errors. 580 Oakmont Lane Westmont,IL. 60559 630-789-9000 ext.5012 rbusch@mbaaudit.com