Dodging Medical Burnout

I am routinely asked if my retirement is imminent. In fact, it may be years away.

I have had three jobs in my long career in gastroenterology. My current one will lead me to retirement, but I have no firm date in mind. In fact, it could be years away. I have reached a station in life where I am routinely asked if my retirement is imminent. I hope that these patients are inquiring because they want me to stay on rather than leave the scene!

My current position has been the most enjoyable and satisfying of my career, particularly at this stage in my professional life. In my post, I have divested myself of the most onerous aspects of medical practice: hospital medicine, nights and weekend work, and on-call responsibilities.

Yes, it’s a dream job, but I had put in 30 years of hard labor before securing it. Now I practice out-patient gastroenterology exclusively. Since I am no longer distracted by hospital and emergency room issues, and I am no longer sleep-deprived from middle-of-the-night emergency calls and visits, I am totally present and focused on the patient facing me in the office.

I loved my prior practice years, most of which were in private practice, with the drama and excitement of hospital life, which included regular communication with nurses and colleagues. There were high stakes and high rewards, but I no longer seek to operate on this stage. I don’t need the drama, and I don’t miss the emergency situations that would call me in at all hours.

I don’t miss hospital life.

This past April, I morphed to a four-day work week, with Fridays off. Last month, I continued the trend and trimmed the schedule down to three days weekly. One way to avoid burnout and prolong one’s career is to narrow the scope of one’s work and to work fewer hours.

I realize that many in the workforce may not have these options. But, if you are a solid worker approaching retirement, and you’re looking to lighten your load, you might have leverage with your employer. Your employment may still be valued after some modifications to your job description. It might be worth having a conversation.

These days, many of my office patients have routine digestive symptoms and concerns. But I do see complex patients as well, including many who see me following recent emergency room visits. But it is clearly a lower-intensity medical practice than I enjoyed previously.

As I have communicated to readers previously, I continue to work because I still enjoy it and I can do the job well. If either of these were starting to fade, then I’d fade out. But for now, I’m still all in.