Yellowlees Peter (ed.) Physician Well-Being: Cases and Solutions

American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2020. — 270 p. — ISBN: 978-1-61537-240-9.Fictional, but thorough and realistic, case studies are at the heart of Physician Well-Being. One per chapter, they allow readers to get inside the minds of physicians and understand their lives and stressors, from long hours and staff shortages to onerous administrative demands.For although physicians tend to live, on average, 2 years longer than nonphysicians in the general population, when it comes to mental health, the situation is more dire: 10–15 years after entering medical school, the average physician has twice the level of burnout of the average professional nonphysician. Suicide rates among physicians are 1.4 and 2 times higher than in the general population for men and women, respectively. Abuse of prescribed drugs is also higher than in community control subjects.Physician Well-Being argues that the major reasons for physician distress are organizational and systemic and focuses on solutions that work, maintaining that changes in the culture and process of medicine aren’t just possible, they’re essential—not only for improving the well-being of health care providers but also for patient care and safety.Each chapter includes concise literature reviews that highlight the most salient points, as well as a detailed list of references for readers interested in further exploration. The insights in the book will be useful not only to physicians and medical students but to anyone with an interest in the culture of health care.“Our Dedicated Dad”
Health Care Is a Team Sport
A Unified Mission
Trust, Mentoring, and Innovation
Pre-Med: Vulnerability and Trauma
Medical School: Implicit Biases and a Well-Being Curriculum
Residency: A Narcotic Addict’s New Career
Cognitive Dissonance and Defining Meaning in Medicine
Medical Marriages: Caring for Each Other
The Joy and Meaning of Medicine