A Mindful Resident Combating Fatigue and Anxiety with Reflection and Mental Presence

Editorial

Austin Emerg Med. 2017; 3(1): 1051.

A Mindful Resident Combating Fatigue and Anxiety with Reflection and Mental Presence

Arain A*

University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Urbana- Champaign, Urbana, USA

*Corresponding author: Abeer Arain, University of Illinois, College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, USA

Received: March 23, 2017; Accepted: March 30, 2017; Published: April 04, 2017

Editorial

Getting up early in the morning, skipping breakfast, running to the car and rushing to reach the floors is the typical way to start the day as a resident physician. Subsequent rounding, making sure all orders are done and finishing notes mark the next few hours. With luck, grabbing a quick lunch while, perhaps skimming through social media updates might be possible. Completing the work in time to avoid duty hour violations, going home still thinking about patients, checking the charts before going to bed, and repeating the same routine again the next day follows. One can easily be overwhelmed and exhausted by the pace and work load. What can we do to learn to pause and reflect, thereby bringing the skyrocketed stress levels back to normal? Physicians are particularly susceptible to burnout due to stresses of multitasking; increase use of computers and mobile devices while delivering patient care. In the United States, it is estimated that 45.8% doctors experience burnout due to work stress [1]. Resident physicians are particularly vulnerable due to their long work hours, pressure to gain large amount of medical knowledge and difficulties in balancing work with personal life. The aftermath is increased rates of clinical errors, patient care that is depersonalized and lacking in empathy, emotional liability and insufficient time to engage in activities scholastic as well as personal passions. Additionally, cognitive overload hinders our productivity and clouds the power of our mind, making it difficult to control our emotions and make clear decisions [2]. That’s when the concept of mindfulness comes in. Mindfulness can be described as nonjudgmental, non-reactive focus on the present moment by engaging both mind and body [3]. It encourages one to create an intention for acts big and small. Mindfulness can be something as simple as taking a short break to gaze out the window on to Crystal Lake Park or closing one’s eyes and practicing paced breathing. Residents are encouraged to use mindfulness as a means to prevent burnout and enhance productivity.

References

  1. Shanafelt TD, Boone S, Tan L, Dyrbye LN, Sotile W, Satele D, et al. Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Balance Among US Physicians Relative to the General US Population. Arch Intern Med. 2012; 172: 1377-1385.
  2. Winter Robin O. The Mindful Physician and Pooh. 2014.
  3. Gething Neal. How we can Utilize Mindfulness in our Practice in Caring for Patients and Ourselves in Palliative Care. 2014.
  4. Amedmews.com. Using Mindfulness to soothe physician stress. 2013.

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Citation: Arain A. A Mindful Resident Combating Fatigue and Anxiety with Reflection and Mental Presence. Austin Emerg Med. 2017; 3(1): 1051. ISSN : 2473-0653

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