[download] How Do We Prevent Burnout in Surgery? [pdf]

Gerard M. Doherty, MD

INTRODUCTION

Burnout among attending surgeons in and out of academic settings is a preva-lent condition, and its treatment and prevention are a societal imperative if weare to maintain an optimal surgical workforce. Intervention requires under-standing the causes of burnout, and how we came to be in this position, beforewe can make plans to alleviate or preclude it. The premise of this article, basedon the personal and managerial experience of the author, is that surgery isyoung, the visionary leaders who created the ﬁeld were fully engaged in sur-gery as their life’s passion, and they came from a social era different thanthe current. The professional structures and expectations that they erected re-ﬂected themselves. Over the past 30 years, surgery has changed, and surgeons