Liz Salas  |  Marketing Associate
(877) 456-2867 x4280  |  lsalas@deltalocums.com 

So how do you know when your doctor is sick?  

This is how: You go to the doctors office because you are sick, or even worse, your child is sick. After being checked-in and waiting in the lounge with 20 to 40 other patients, you are then shuffled to a patient’s room to wait even longer for your doctor. When you finally get to see the doctor to tell him/her what is wrong, the doctor is unresponsive.  You then have a feeling of Oh, no…did he even hear me?  From the start, you have an uneasiness in your gut, and you start thinking… Is he acting quiet because the diagnosis is severe or does he even know what to do for my sick child? You wonder why he is writing on his pad, but then he tells you that he is prescribing antibiotics or something else to take care of the problem. However, he really never elaborated on the problem, so you are just shaking your head and wondering to yourself if this is what you just paid for… a doctor writing a prescription?

Stop… your doctor is sick! He is sick from seeing patients and being overworked. By the time he visited with you, he had already seen a multitude of patients with similar symptoms (or so he thinks), as they were all given the same prescription.

Recent studies have shown that more and more doctors are battling burnout. Experts define burnout as a combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of diminished personal accomplishments. Burnout has led to depression, substance abuse and suicide among doctors. Exhausted doctors can be careless in their actions and attitudes, and are likely to commit medication errors.

So what can we do as the patient/customer to assure that we are receiving the best healthcare from your physician? Ask questions, and do not let your doctor off of the hook. If you are going to an urgent care clinic or family care clinic, call before going arriving and ask how many doctors are on the schedule for the day. Ask how many patients they have seen for the day. When the doctor is in the patient’s room with you, ask him questions, and that will help validate what he is diagnosing. Schedule your appointment in the morning and early in the week when your doctor is less likely to be tired and more attentive. Whatever you do, act with kindness and do not let him off of the hook with a quick diagnosis and a prescription handed to you.

The healthcare system is trying to come up with support groups for overworked physicians. There is also a push to incorporate classes into physician’s curriculum that help them learn how to deal with the pressure of being in a high volume clinic or environment. However, as a patient we can help ourselves by being aware of who is treating us and being proactive with receiving the right treatment/diagnosis.