What’s at stake when physician moms don’t prioritize themselves and their own well-being??
Physician moms should prioritize and invest in their well-being for several compelling reasons. First and foremost, maintaining good mental and physical health is absolutely crucial for delivering optimal patient care. This is what our healthcare system, hospital systems and administrations tend to prioritize and understandably so. None of us want to have doctors who are burned out, disillusioned and miserable taking care of us when we are at our most vulnerable.
A physician's ability to provide quality medical attention is directly linked to their own well-being. Additionally, investing in self-care helps prevent burnout, a pervasive issue among healthcare professionals, ensuring sustained passion and commitment to their profession.
If women physicians neglect to prioritize their own well-being and core values, several significant risks and consequences may emerge:
Burnout: Ignoring well-being can lead to burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Burnout can detrimentally impact both professional and personal aspects of a physician's life.
Decreased Quality of Patient Care: Fatigue and emotional exhaustion resulting from neglecting well-being can compromise a physician's ability to provide high-quality patient care. This may lead to errors, reduced empathy, and diminished patient satisfaction.
Strained Interpersonal Relationships: Neglecting personal well-being can strain relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. The emotional toll of work-related stress may spill over into personal interactions, impacting the physician's support system.
Reduced Job Satisfaction: A lack of alignment with core values and neglect of well-being can contribute to reduced job satisfaction. This dissatisfaction may affect a physician's overall engagement, motivation, and longevity in their career.
Negative Mental Health Impact: Chronic stress and neglect of well-being can contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. These conditions not only affect the physician's personal life but can also hinder their professional performance.
Decreased Resilience: Prioritizing well-being is crucial for building resilience in the face of challenges. Without this resilience, physicians may struggle to cope with the inevitable stressors in their profession, leading to a negative impact on their overall career trajectory.
Attrition from the Profession: The cumulative effects of burnout, dissatisfaction, and strained relationships may contribute to women physicians leaving the profession prematurely. This attrition can result in a loss of valuable talent and diversity in the healthcare field.
Impact on Future Generations: Women physicians serve as role models for aspiring medical professionals. If they neglect their well-being and values, it may perpetuate a culture that emphasizes sacrifice over self-care, influencing the well-being choices of future generations.
Professional Identity Crisis: Neglecting core values can lead to a misalignment between personal beliefs and the demands of the medical profession. This misalignment may trigger a professional identity crisis, impacting the physician's sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Limitation of Leadership Potential: Women physicians who do not prioritize their well-being may find it challenging to reach their full leadership potential. Sustained success in leadership roles often requires a foundation of personal well-being and adherence to core values.
In essence, neglecting well-being and core values not only jeopardizes the individual physician's health and happiness but also has far-reaching consequences that extend to patient care, professional relationships, and the overall vitality of the healthcare system.
Prioritizing well-being is not just a personal choice; it is a commitment to sustaining a healthy, resilient, and impactful medical community.
I’ll be discussing some of the biggest barriers to women physicians being able to carve out this time and space for themselves in my next blog!
