Who Is Sicker: Patients—or Residents? Residents' Distress and the Care of Patients
Authors: Linda Hawes Clever
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Editorials5 March 2002Who Is Sicker: Patients—or Residents? Residents' Distress and the Care of PatientsLinda Hawes Clever, MDLinda Hawes Clever, MDCalifornia Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94115Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-136-5-200203050-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Is burnout in residents a malignant disease? Do exhaustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness start small, then grow, spread, and harm? Do they extend to students, other residents, patients, career, family? If so, what is the pathogenesis? What is the treatment? Can we prevent, cure, or heal this? Should anyone care?Starting with the last question, there is growing evidence that, despite generations of denial, physicians' feelings matter. Grol and colleagues (1) have shown that frustrations, tensions, and annoyance with time pressures are linked to giving patients short shrift: Physicians may write a plethora of prescriptions yet give a paucity of time ...References1. Grol R, Mokkink H, Smits A, van Eijk J, Beek M, Mesker P, et al . Work satisfaction of general practitioners and the quality of patient care. Fam Pract. 1985;2:128-35. [PMID: 4043602] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. DiMatteo MR, Sherbourne CD, Hays RD, Ordway L, Kravitz RL, McGlynn EA, et al . Physicians' characteristics influence patients' adherence to medical treatment: results from the Medical Outcomes Study. Health Psychol. 1993;12:93-102. [PMID: 8500445] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Barr DA. The effects of organizational structure on primary care outcomes under managed care. Ann Intern Med. 1995;122:353-9. [PMID: 7847647] LinkGoogle Scholar4. Haas JS, Cook EF, Puopolo AL, Burstin HR, Cleary PD, Brennan TA. 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Personal growth in medical faculty: a qualitative study. West J Med. 2001;175:92-8. [PMID: 11483549] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. Weiner EL, Swain GR, Wolf B, Gottlieb M. A qualitative study of physicians' own wellness-promotion practices. West J Med. 2001;174:19-23. [PMID: 11154656] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar20. Clever LH. A checklist for making good choices in trying—or tranquil—times. West J Med. 2001;174:41-3. [PMID: 11154667] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94115Disclosure: Dr. Clever receives compensation as president of Renew!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to returning health to health professionals.Corresponding Author: Linda Hawes Clever, MD, Occupational Health, California Pacific Medical Center, 2351 Clay Street, Suite S 513F, San Francisco, CA 94115. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBurnout and Self-Reported Patient Care in an Internal Medicine Residency Program Tait D. Shanafelt , Katharine A. Bradley , Joyce E. Wipf , and Anthony L. Back Resident Burnout Ira S. Nash Resident Burnout W. 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Skeff, MD, PhD, Stephen Ezeji-Okoye, MD, Peter Pompei, MD, and Stanley Rockson, MDA view of our future: The case for redesigning rheumatology practiceThe well-being of physiciansFiction as ResistanceSamuel ShemResident BurnoutIra S. Nash, MDResident BurnoutJoshua A. Beckman, MD and James C.-T. Fang, MD 5 March 2002Volume 136, Issue 5Page: 391-393KeywordsEmotionsHealth careMotivationPathogenesisPatientsPrevention, policy, and public healthQuestionnairesResearch fundingResidencySleep ePublished: 5 March 2002 Issue Published: 5 March 2002 CopyrightCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...