How to avoid burnout

1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,860 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast, where academic clinicians learn the skills 2 00:00:05,860 --> 00:00:11,260 to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 3 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:17,340 As clinicians, we spend a decade or more as trainees learning to take care of patients. 4 00:00:17,340 --> 00:00:22,380 When we finally start our careers, we want to build research programs, but then we find 5 00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:27,780 that our years of clinical training did not adequately prepare us to lead our research 6 00:00:27,780 --> 00:00:29,200 program. 7 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:35,480 Through no fault of our own, we struggle to find mentors, and when we can't, we quit. 8 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,580 However, clinicians hold the keys to the greatest research breakthroughs. 9 00:00:40,580 --> 00:00:46,200 For this reason, the Clinician Researcher podcast exists to give academic clinicians 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,800 the tools to build their own research program, whether or not they have a mentor. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:01:01,060 Now introducing your host, Toyosi Onwuemene. 12 00:01:01,060 --> 00:01:05,400 Welcome to the Clinician Researcher podcast. 13 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,880 I'm your host Toyosi Onwuemene, and it is such a pleasure to be talking with you today. 14 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:14,400 I'm especially excited to talk about today's episode because it's about strategies to avoid 15 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:16,320 burnout. 16 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:21,760 And I think this is sorely needed because there's so much burnout in medicine. 17 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:27,840 So over 60% of docs in 2021 reported that they were burned out. 18 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:34,400 And yes, to some extent, there was a greater increase in burnout before the COVID or during 19 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,120 the COVID pandemic. 20 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,560 But the reality is that burnout has always been present with us. 21 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:48,920 And it's a function of the field in which we practice and the high intensity and the 22 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:54,640 high stakes and the fact that there is this feeling we get that we're responsible for 23 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:55,640 everything. 24 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,920 We're responsible for keeping the patient alive. 25 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,760 We're responsible if the patient has a bad outcome. 26 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,880 There's a lot that drives us towards burnout in medicine. 27 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:14,040 And therefore, I am certainly not the first to talk about strategies to avoid burnout. 28 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:20,400 But I did want to talk about strategies to avoid burnout in a different perspective. 29 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,900 Is this an exhaustive list of all the things that you can do to avoid burnout? 30 00:02:24,900 --> 00:02:28,280 The answer is definitely no. 31 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,040 But I think it's important to think about things differently. 32 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:37,160 So this will be a little bit different from perhaps what you've been told as to how to 33 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,440 avoid burnout. 34 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:45,560 And this is especially pertinent for me because I feel like by the time, I mean, I've had 35 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:53,960 burnout throughout stages of my medical training and my time as a faculty person. 36 00:02:53,960 --> 00:03:02,320 I will say that when I look back on my training, it's hard to say when the highest levels of 37 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,020 burnout were because I was ready to quit medicine even in medical school. 38 00:03:06,020 --> 00:03:14,600 So definitely, there was burnout there, you know, and certainly as a resident. 39 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:19,200 And oh, goodness, was I the crabbiest first year fellow ever? 40 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,280 Wow, it feels like I've been burned out a lot in medicine. 41 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:31,840 But anyway, I say all that to say that the time in my life that was most critical as 42 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,960 far as being burned out was really as a faculty person. 43 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:46,040 And I feel like I tolerated a lot when I first started in terms of all the resources I didn't 44 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:48,880 have and all the things I was required to do. 45 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,240 But everybody else was doing the same. 46 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,120 So there was always the sense that, well, you know, everybody else is sucking it up 47 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:56,120 and doing the work. 48 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,360 Why don't I? 49 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:05,440 But we can't measure our experience against other people's experiences, right? 50 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,800 Because we don't know what resources they have access to. 51 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,240 We don't know what other challenges they're facing. 52 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,400 And so the right comparison is really to yourself. 53 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,960 But anyway, I feel like I tolerated it for a long time until it got to a time during 54 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:24,200 the pandemic where I just had given actually a lot, given everything. 55 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:30,760 And I finally came to a day where I was just literally waiting. 56 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,400 I was like a day from vacation and I was desperate. 57 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,520 I was desperate to get away from the hospital. 58 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,560 I was desperate to leave everything and I was exhausted. 59 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,800 I was worn out and my spirit was so beat out. 60 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,000 It was bad. 61 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:55,080 I remember I came home that day having left behind the weight of work or at least, you 62 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,640 know, shed as much of it as I could. 63 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:03,080 And I saw my neighbor in the driveway and I forget what question she asked me. 64 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:09,360 And I remember telling her that if I died right now, it would be a good outcome. 65 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:17,720 And I won't say that I was suicidal, but I definitely had this sense of, you know what? 66 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,840 The after life is looking really good right now. 67 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:23,840 It won't be a bad outcome. 68 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:31,560 You know, you know, you're you're kind of wow, nearing or at rock bottom when it feels 69 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,000 better to be dead than alive. 70 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,040 Yeah. 71 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:41,600 So I would say that that may have been the lowest point of my time in medicine. 72 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,900 Certainly was the lowest point of my time as a faculty member. 73 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:50,520 The good news is about being at your lowest point is that there is nowhere else to go 74 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:51,520 but up. 75 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,360 You know, you can stay where you are. 76 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:55,200 That's one option. 77 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,320 But but up is a possibility. 78 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,400 And so I'm on the other side of that now. 79 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:08,080 And I feel like I work probably as hard now as I did then. 80 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:14,040 But I have a sense of purpose about my work and I have joy and so much energy around my 81 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,040 work. 82 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,840 So even though I am still working hard, I'm definitely in a different place today than 83 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:22,240 I was before. 84 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:30,240 So I want to share with you seven strategies that I employ to avoid burnout. 85 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:35,920 And I invite you to consider them as well. 86 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:37,960 Here we go. 87 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:43,060 Number one is to look around you with discernment. 88 00:06:43,060 --> 00:06:48,320 So another way to say it is to take off the rose colored glasses and really give your 89 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,560 environment a long hard look. 90 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:59,400 If you are a clinician, a physician who went through at least four years of medical school, 91 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:06,880 possibly more, couple of years of residency, and couple of years of fellowship, you would 92 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:11,160 count relative to the general population as a crazy person. 93 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:18,360 And what I mean is that your baseline is very high functioning relative to the people around 94 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:19,760 you. 95 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:28,760 So recognize that as a person in medicine, as a clinician in particular, your tolerance 96 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:35,280 of crap is very, very high. 97 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,760 And if that were the end of the story, that would be good. 98 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:44,080 But it gets worse because you look around you and there are people who can push the 99 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:45,080 limits. 100 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:49,760 That's like, oh, you can stay up three days in a row without going to bed, oh, I can do 101 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:50,760 four. 102 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,520 There's a lot of pathology in medicine. 103 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,200 There are a lot of people who are sick in medicine. 104 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:02,960 There are a lot of unhealthy doctors trying to care for patients. 105 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:07,560 And we cannot give the health that we do not have. 106 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,640 And oh, yeah, we can push medication and do chest compressions. 107 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,040 We can do stuff, bring people back. 108 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:17,920 We can help people feel better. 109 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:25,680 But if we are unhealthy, we can physically help people, but emotionally, we don't serve 110 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,560 them and potentially we're pulling them down. 111 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:36,760 And so it's important for us to look around our environment and recognize the sickness 112 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,120 that pervades the healthcare system. 113 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:48,540 And I'm talking in particular about the healthcare workers within the healthcare system, particularly 114 00:08:48,540 --> 00:08:50,640 clinicians. 115 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:56,040 And if you are a clinician scientist and you don't spend as much time doing clinical work, 116 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,000 maybe you spare yourself some of that. 117 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,640 But I will guarantee you that this is not a problem only for clinicians. 118 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:08,120 It is a problem for scientists as well. 119 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:14,920 This whole idea that you work and work and then you work again and the whole idea that 120 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:20,280 rest is a problem. 121 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:26,080 So it's just important to look around you with discernment and recognize that this is 122 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,640 not the real world. 123 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:34,840 The world that you inhabit on a daily basis as a clinician going into an academic medical 124 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:41,960 environment is not a healthy world, not the real world. 125 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:47,960 And so I invite you first to look around with discernment so that you recognize that this 126 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:53,960 is not the environment by which you should set the standards of operating your life. 127 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:57,120 Now we do that because it's the default environment. 128 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,240 What are we going to do? 129 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:00,240 But we can choose. 130 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:06,920 And when we look around with discernment, not with judgment, not with blame, we're like, 131 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,920 oh, all right, there are a lot of sick people around me. 132 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:10,920 Got it. 133 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:15,840 It's really powerful because it allows us to choose. 134 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:21,920 What do I do to stay healthy in an environment where I'm surrounded by people who are not 135 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,920 healthy? 136 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:29,440 How do I avoid contagion? 137 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,080 You could leave the environment. 138 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,000 That's one option. 139 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,120 You could come in with personal protective equipment. 140 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,480 That's another option. 141 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:47,140 The extent of the personal protective equipment that you come in with can vary, right? 142 00:10:47,140 --> 00:10:51,480 But you get to choose when you look around with discernment. 143 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,880 You take off the rose-colored glasses. 144 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,760 You stop saying, oh my gosh, it's such a wonderful environment. 145 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:57,760 It is wonderful. 146 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,080 There's so many great things that happen in medicine. 147 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:08,400 And it's full of many clinicians, many clinician scientists who are sick. 148 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:13,120 You can continue to be one of them, or you can choose how you're going to navigate this 149 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:19,760 environment the moment you recognize that a sick environment could be making you sick. 150 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:25,360 Again, this is not an invitation to quit medicine, though maybe that might be the answer for you 151 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:26,360 right now. 152 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:34,560 But it's an invitation to stop lying to yourself, to stop living in denial of being in a healthy 153 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:37,960 environment because when you're no longer in that denial, then you don't ask yourself 154 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,760 what is wrong with you. 155 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:46,280 You recognize that the environment is driving some of the experiences you're having, and 156 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:52,000 it gives you power to choose how to manage your experience. 157 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:53,480 Okay. 158 00:11:53,480 --> 00:12:01,920 Number two is to recognize your ultimate weakness. 159 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,720 Recognize your ultimate weakness. 160 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:13,080 Your ultimate weakness, no it's not kryptonite, oh Superman. 161 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:19,480 The ultimate weakness is that you don't have very much control over many things. 162 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,880 But you do have control over yourself. 163 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,840 Let's just get to the next thing right away. 164 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:32,840 But it is important to recognize how little of anybody else beyond yourself you control. 165 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:40,160 This is really powerful and important to recognize that you are so weak when it comes to controlling 166 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:48,440 other people, that it is a waste of energy to invest time trying to do that. 167 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:54,360 You are so weak, you are such a loser when it comes to controlling other people, I use 168 00:12:54,360 --> 00:13:01,720 that word intentionally, that you should stop trying. 169 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,640 Because you cannot successfully control somebody else. 170 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,040 Now, you know, some people are pretty skilled. 171 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,160 So there's a lot of skilled people out there. 172 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,680 I've seen skilled manipulators. 173 00:13:13,680 --> 00:13:16,960 I've seen people who are skilled at using fear tactics. 174 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:22,720 There are a lot of strategies in medicine. 175 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:31,380 But ultimately, you're pretty weak because you don't have power to control other people. 176 00:13:31,380 --> 00:13:34,920 If you're going to work to control other people, and some people are actually successful in 177 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:39,680 controlling others, you're going to invest a lot of energy. 178 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,280 And if you're investing a lot of energy in controlling people, you're probably not accomplishing 179 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,840 anything of significance. 180 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:55,680 But your weakness is that the power you have available to you is to control yourself to 181 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:59,320 the best of your ability, because sometimes you can't even do that. 182 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:06,960 But in recognizing your ultimate weakness, it allows you to think about, number three, 183 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,960 shrinking to your circle of influence. 184 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:18,320 If you cannot control a wider circle outside you, what can you control? 185 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,360 You can control yourself. 186 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,700 You can learn to control your thought life. 187 00:14:24,700 --> 00:14:28,920 You can learn to control the way you respond. 188 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,520 You can learn to control you. 189 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:32,720 Wow. 190 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:34,860 How much power is there? 191 00:14:34,860 --> 00:14:36,600 How much is freed up? 192 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,160 How much energy is freed up? 193 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:45,800 When you stop running around chasing other people to fix the environment, and instead 194 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:47,360 you change yourself. 195 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:54,680 The power of changing yourself in an environment of sickness is that you stop asking the environment 196 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:57,700 to fix itself so you can be better. 197 00:14:57,700 --> 00:15:03,760 You ask, how do I fix me so I can be better, whether the environment chooses or not? 198 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:08,680 Because I have to tell you in medicine, we complain a bit a lot about our environments, 199 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:14,640 but the reality is the environments we have are the environments we have collectively 200 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:16,440 created. 201 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:24,400 And the reason that they have not changed is that we connive to keep them alive. 202 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:25,400 We do. 203 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:29,600 We're like, I hate this system, it sucks so much. 204 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,000 And things don't change. 205 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,640 It's because we collude to keep things going. 206 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:36,680 There is secondary gain. 207 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,960 Maybe you don't see it personally, there are people who see the benefit, the secondary 208 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:49,080 gain of the constant complaining and griping that happens because people aren't happy. 209 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,920 But a lot of it won't change. 210 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:57,280 Not unless you do, when you change, everything changes. 211 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:02,200 When you change, it doesn't matter that people don't want to work. 212 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,020 Doesn't matter. 213 00:16:04,020 --> 00:16:07,640 Because you get to choose how you respond. 214 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,800 Whether you stay or you go, you get to choose. 215 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,240 So number three is to shrink to your circle of influence. 216 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:16,240 That's really you. 217 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:20,840 Oh yeah, you can influence other people who are closest to you. 218 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:25,520 For the most part, as you focus on yourself, then what you have the opportunity to do is 219 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,520 to inspire others. 220 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:33,040 It's much more powerful than trying to control them or manipulate them into doing what you 221 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,820 want them to do. 222 00:16:35,820 --> 00:16:38,140 Number four is focus. 223 00:16:38,140 --> 00:16:41,180 Focus like a laser. 224 00:16:41,180 --> 00:16:42,440 Focus like a laser. 225 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:49,240 Once you've discovered your superpower of changing yourself, it's time to focus. 226 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,440 It's time to focus on growing that power. 227 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,200 So how much of you can you control? 228 00:16:55,200 --> 00:17:00,360 Can you keep your cool even when a patient is yelling at you and you can feel his saliva 229 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,400 in your face? 230 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,240 Yeah. 231 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:11,640 Focus like a laser on yourself allows you to increase your superpower to a place that 232 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,720 you didn't even know existed. 233 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:23,160 And so focus like a laser, focus your energy like a laser on yourself. 234 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,120 Cause that's the person that you ultimately are able to control. 235 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:32,160 I mean, yes, yes, you ultimately able to control yourself. 236 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:40,160 Now does that mean you have power to control other people once you figured out yourself? 237 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:41,880 No. 238 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:49,360 You focus like a laser on yourself and that empowers you to make change happen for yourself. 239 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:54,720 Other people see that you are changing and then they follow you. 240 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,520 Focus like a laser. 241 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,920 Number five is to choose to give people a pass. 242 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:01,920 People are going to get it wrong. 243 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:03,520 They're going to do the wrong thing. 244 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,640 They're going to mess up. 245 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,560 You could stand, you could judge them and yell at them and say, I can't believe you 246 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:10,560 are so stupid. 247 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,400 I can't believe this person we hired them. 248 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:13,720 What's wrong with them? 249 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,760 Or you can say, oh, that's interesting. 250 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:17,760 You did that. 251 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:18,760 Okay. 252 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:20,680 And walk away. 253 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,240 Choose to give people a pass. 254 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:24,240 They're not perfect. 255 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:25,240 They'll never be. 256 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,080 Stop being surprised when this person who's always lying lies again. 257 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,440 You're like, I can't believe you lied. 258 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,680 But this is the 199th time you can't believe they have lied. 259 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:35,680 When are you going to believe it? 260 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:41,120 When are you going to believe that this person who's so amazing, so awesome, this guy that 261 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,960 you refer and look up to is a liar? 262 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:49,160 When are you going to accept it? 263 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,480 And so you just say, oh, you lied again. 264 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:52,640 There it is. 265 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,800 Choose to give people a pass because the energy you use to try to convince them to change 266 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:03,120 is somehow not being well spent because it's wasted. 267 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:04,120 So choose. 268 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:05,120 Choose to give people a pass. 269 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:06,520 Say, oh, there you go. 270 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:12,400 The guy who lies all the time, the guy who's always wheeling and dealing and trying to 271 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,280 pull a fast one on you. 272 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,480 And you just know that, okay, the moment you walk in the door and walk out the back door, 273 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:20,720 right, you just have a plan. 274 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,240 You don't have to stand and judge them and say, I can't believe you're like this. 275 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:25,240 You just let it go. 276 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:26,240 Just let it go. 277 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:30,000 And that's why number six is know when it's time to walk away. 278 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:31,360 Know when it's time to walk away. 279 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,880 And this is so important because in reality, some of the people who are the sickest in 280 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,680 our environments are some of the people who are the most decorated, right? 281 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:47,720 The most decorated generals in medicine are some of the sickest in medicine. 282 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,760 You can recognize them. 283 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:54,880 Other people recognize them, but they're so successful. 284 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,280 Nobody says anything. 285 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,600 But you know, you know who they are. 286 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:08,040 And that's why it's important for you to know when it's time to walk away. 287 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:16,040 When all of a sudden you are growing in bad habits that don't serve you. 288 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:21,520 Even no matter how amazing this person is, no matter how much of a mentor they were to 289 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:29,980 you know when it's time to walk away from a culture that hurts you. 290 00:20:29,980 --> 00:20:32,360 Number seven is own your power to choose. 291 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:35,160 I hear physicians saying all the time, I have no choice. 292 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,000 You always, always have a choice. 293 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:46,520 The reason you think you don't have a choice is because you do not know the options. 294 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:51,760 Because the moment you figure out that you have options, then you know, you know beyond 295 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:57,200 the shadow of a doubt that you have the power to choose. 296 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,280 Own your power to choose. 297 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,720 And you can choose not to have it. 298 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,840 You can choose to have it in a little dose, but you're choosing. 299 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,120 So own your power. 300 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,120 Own your power to choose. 301 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:17,240 As you do these things, you're going to begin to avoid burnout. 302 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:21,520 You're going to begin to avoid burnout because number one, you look around with discernment 303 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:23,840 and you just are not, you're not disillusioned. 304 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:25,600 You're like, do people behave badly? 305 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:26,600 Oh, okay, they do. 306 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,120 There you go. 307 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,160 Now use your energy for something else. 308 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:35,840 Number two, recognize your ultimate weakness, your inability to control another person, 309 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:41,040 except by fear or coercion or extreme craziness. 310 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:48,120 But if you're going to be a normal human, recognize your inability to help people unless 311 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:50,400 they want to be helped. 312 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,400 Recognize that you don't successfully control people. 313 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:54,400 Okay. 314 00:21:54,400 --> 00:22:00,880 Number three, shrink to your circle of influence, that's you. 315 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,000 Number four, focus like a laser. 316 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,880 Number five, choose to give people a pass. 317 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,160 Number six, know when it's time to walk away. 318 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:13,200 Oh, number seven, own your power to choose. 319 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:18,440 And so those are seven strategies to avoid burnout, especially for clinicians trying 320 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,840 to make the transition towards research. 321 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,720 All right. 322 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,360 It's been a pleasure talking with you, Jay. 323 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:27,360 Thank you for listening. 324 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,640 Go forth and prosper. 325 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:32,520 Have a great week. 326 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,960 Thank you. 327 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:41,920 It is important to know that we do have a webinar coming up on December 20th at noon. 328 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:43,920 This is when you don't have a mentor. 329 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,120 And I'm betting there are many people out there who have no mentor. 330 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:54,320 Come and listen to strategies to succeed, even whether or not you have a mentor. 331 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,320 All right. 332 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:56,320 It's been a pleasure. 333 00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:57,920 Thank you for listening. 334 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:02,320 Please share this episode with someone and invite them to like and subscribe. 335 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:03,320 Take care. 336 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:04,320 Bye-bye. 337 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:16,480 Thanks for listening to this episode of the Clinician Researcher Podcast, where academic 338 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,880 clinicians learn the skills to build their own research program, whether or not they 339 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,280 have a mentor. 340 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:29,380 If you found the information in this episode to be helpful, don't keep it all to yourself. 341 00:23:29,380 --> 00:23:31,120 Someone else needs to hear it. 342 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,160 So take a minute right now and share it. 343 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:40,640 As you share this episode, you become part of our mission to help launch a new generation 344 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:46,600 of clinician researchers who make transformative discoveries that change the way we do healthcare.