Physician Burnout
and therefore less likely to experience burnout. Resiliency
improves with age and experience, but physicians “can
deliberately enhance [their] resiliency by learning self-
management skills and connecting with the meaning and
purpose in our lives.” 5
A Culture Shift
Physicians are often drawn to the field of medicine by a
desire to serve, which makes them more susceptible to
experiencing burnout: Because their priority is caring for
others, caring for themselves often takes a back seat.
SIDEBAR 1
A Collaborative Approach
to Solving Burnout
To accomplish its mission of conquering
blood diseases worldwide, the American
Society of Hematology (ASH) recognizes
that a strong workforce of clinicians,
researchers, and other members of the
health-care team is necessary. The Society
has advocated on behalf of its members
to streamline administrative work and has
compiled resources to support the well-
being of its members. The “Well-Being and
Resilience” section of the ASH website
includes materials from the Society’s
publications and live meetings that address
the myriad factors affecting physician well-
being. Visit hematology.org/resilience for
more information.
“We are here to serve our patients,” said Arun
Singavi, MD, a hematology/oncology fellow at the
Medical College of Wisconsin, and a member of the
American Society of Hematology (ASH) Trainee Council.
“Complaining seems to be viewed as a sign of weakness,
especially in the training environment. You can’t take a
break, because exhaustion is a rite of passage.”
Dr. Mehta was quick to point out that physicians have
always worked long hours and always had a “lack of rela-
tive work-life balance.” In recent years, though, growing
piles of paperwork and a diminishing sense of autonomy
have eroded the time that physicians spend with patients.
“In the past, clinicians had the feeling of really making
a difference in their patients’ lives,” she said. “Now, they
don’t get to experience that at the same level.”
The increasing workload is one of the “external”
factors identified by the National Academy of Medicine
(NAM) as a contributor to physician burnout. To better
understand physician burnout, the organization devel-
oped a conceptual framework of the issue, broken into
seven categories. Four of those categories are external fac-
tors (related to workload and the environment in which
Come visit us at booth
1449
at the ASH Annual Meeting
#
AMA’s Steps Forward
In 2015, the AMA launched the Steps
Forward program, a collection of 50 online
modules to provide clinicians with proven
strategies that can improve practice ef-
ficiency, leading to a better patient experi-
ence, better population health, and lower
overall costs with improved professional
satisfaction. 1 The modules in the realm of
“Professional Well-Being” include:
• preventing physician distress and
suicide
• improving physician resilience
• creating the organizational structural
elements that support joy, purpose,
and meaning in work
The NAM’s Clinician Well-
Being Knowledge Hub
In early 2017, the NAM launched its Ac-
tion Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being
and Resilience, a group that includes
approximately 200 health-care systems,
hospitals, and medical societies (including
ASH) committed to reversing trends in
clinician burnout. 2
This year, it launched the Clinician
Well-Being Knowledge Hub, an online re-
pository for hundreds of resources, includ-
ing peer-reviewed research and tool kits,
to help organizations learn more about
physician burnout and solutions, including
organizational and individual strategies to
promote well-being.
For adults with chronic ITP
STAND
STRONG
AGAINST PLATELET DESTRUCTION
REFERENCES
1. American Medical Association. “Steps Forward.” Accessed
September 26, 2018, from https://www.stepsforward.org/.
2. National Academy of Medicine. “Clinician Well-Being
Knowledge Hub.” Accessed September 26, 2018, from
https://nam.edu/clinicianwellbeing/.
52
ASH Clinical News
Indication
TAVALISSE™ (fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate) tablets
is indicated for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult
patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who
have had an insuffi cient response to a previous treatment.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIRST
ORAL SYK INHIBITOR IN cITP,
VISIT TAVALISSEhcp.com