Physician burnout

I see and hear about more and more unhappy physicians, some of whom become happy former-physicians. It makes me reflect on my own circumstances.

Research suggests that the four major underlying contributors to physician dissatisfaction and burnout are

• time pressure
• loss or lack of autonomy
• chaotic and fast-paced work setting
• lack of values alignment between the physician and their parent organization

I suppose it is possible, then, that a system that links salary to unrealistic and unsupported productivity targets, that makes decisions in small administrative committees without clinician awareness or participation, whose infrastructure is based on distinct hierarchical silos and discourages horizontal communication, networks, or functional teaming,  and that focuses on metrics for audits and revenue generation rather than on clinical care might not be a great place to work?