Burnout

[mmetzgerPAC]

I’ve been working as a PA for over 5 years. Over the past few months I’ve been feeling burned out. I have been having anxiety and second guessing myself a lot recently. I think this was triggered by a patient having a serious reaction to a medication I prescribed to her (nothing I missed just an unfortunate side effect). It has gotten to the point that I want to change careers as I don’t see the PA profession getting any less stressful. Just wondering if anyone has been through something like this? Any advice on less stressful or non clinical roles? Has anyone gone back to school and done something else after working as a PA? I’m very conflicted on where to go from here.

[sas5814]

You will probably get a number of suggestions. I just want to say how you feel isn't uncommon. I'd even say it is very common and more so in recent years with the corporitization of health care and, now, Covid.

I was furloughed in March and subsequently my furlough ran out and they termed me. Before that happened someone on this board suggested I look into remote medicine. As of this writing I'm on the north slope of Alaska at a remote clinic. Very little administrative overhead. Small patient population. An environment where my opinion is respected and generally followed without discussion.

It suits me and resolves most of the things about practicing that made me crazy.

There is something else out there for you. You just don't know what it is yet.

[ventana]

50 minutes ago, sas5814 said:

You will probably get a number of suggestions. I just want to say how you feel isn't uncommon. I'd even say it is very common and more so in recent years with the corporitization of health care and, now, Covid.

I was furloughed in March and subsequently my furlough ran out and they termed me. Before that happened someone on this board suggested I look into remote medicine. As of this writing I'm on the north slope of Alaska at a remote clinic. Very little administrative overhead. Small patient population. An environment where my opinion is respected and generally followed without discussion.

It suits me and resolves most of the things about practicing that made me crazy.

There is something else out there for you. You just don't know what it is yet.

Way to go!!!!!   Love Alaska!!!!

[PAinPenna]

Consider getting your Buprenorphine waiver and treating addiction. Your stress level will go way down, and at the end of every day you will feel like you actually helped someone. 

[Derbingle]

After 10 years I too, am also burned out. It seems the profession is getting more stressful, not less stressful. There’s more pressure on physicians. Medicare and government are becoming so involved that it’s almost impossible to be efficient with all the regulations and requirements for billing to be OK. I wish I could figure out something else to do as well.  I thought this would be the profession that I would retire from but I’m completely dissatisfied. I actually really enjoy helping/treating people but all of the things that make everybody else crazy too, are ruining it for me and I just don’t have the energy to keep fighting forward as the sands of time wash us back to the bottom.  The docs put more and more pressure onto physician assistant who are ready overburden, working side-by-side with them.  
I could be wrong but it seems that the representation for the physician assistant profession has not lobbied for us or made much gains in our favor , meanwhile Nurse practitioners are being pumped out by online programs by the thousands. They come to work side-by-side with us ....but the problem is ...they don’t work as practitioners/ providers .....they work as nurses. (Not all, but most of the newly minted set) Physicians begin expecting the PA to perform like a nurse in that the nurse is doing every single tiny little thing, including a ton of little nursing duties.  It’s maddening and I don’t want to practice like a nurse,  because well, I’m not a nurse.   
I think Covid really spent us.  
 

Edited October 26, 2020 by Derbingle

[DizzyJ]

Have you been in the same specialty for 5 years?  You can explore many options to make a major change to get out of your current PA rut.  Like Alaska, as stated above.  I have my AK license!!  Haven't used it yet though.  If you aren't tied down to your current location, then I would look into these unique gigs.  If you are tied down to location, then at least explore a different specialty.  I've worked in Hawaii, California, Northern Mariana Islands, and boring Ohio.  I have an NP friend in AK and she loves it.  I've had a PA friend go to Kwajalein Atoll.  You can look into CIA, FBI, State Department...So, you've got options before walking away from medicine.  

[GMM2019]

Also feeling burnt out. I’m relatively new to my current specialty and just feel like I’m failing in every way. I can’t keep up with the consults, my schedule keeps getting messed up and there’s barely any supervision. I’m tired of feeling like I have to do every one else’s job. I’m tired of getting these dumpster fire patients dropped on me without a clue what to do with them. I have a growing list of patients that need follow up work or call backs, etc. and there’s no support staff to help with this. I’m tired of being made to use my own personal laptop and phone for work. I. Just. Can’t. Keep. Up. 
 

I’m trying to do more meditation exercises and accept the suffering as it is. I’ve given up trying to be the best PA ever and have settled for C or C+ quality.

[CAAdmission]

5 hours ago, GMM2019 said:

I’m trying to do more meditation exercises and accept the suffering as it is. I’ve given up trying to be the best PA ever and have settled for C or C+ quality.

That's part of the secret to recovering from burnout. Most of the time good enough is good enough. 

[sas5814]

Better is the enemy of good.

[ANESMCR]

15 hours ago, GMM2019 said:

Also feeling burnt out. I’m relatively new to my current specialty and just feel like I’m failing in every way. I can’t keep up with the consults, my schedule keeps getting messed up and there’s barely any supervision. I’m tired of feeling like I have to do every one else’s job. I’m tired of getting these dumpster fire patients dropped on me without a clue what to do with them. I have a growing list of patients that need follow up work or call backs, etc. and there’s no support staff to help with this. I’m tired of being made to use my own personal laptop and phone for work. I. Just. Can’t. Keep. Up. 
 

I’m trying to do more meditation exercises and accept the suffering as it is. I’ve given up trying to be the best PA ever and have settled for C or C+ quality.

I feel this. I’m in outpatient/inpatient GI. Almost through the first year of this specialty. I get the dumpster fire patients. Non compliant IBD (the absolute worst), decompensated cirrhotics, refractory GERD, liver/panc/biliary cancers, any GI zebra you can think of. While the veteran PA’s cruise through their days with procedure follow up’s, colon screenings, and Barrett’s. Get done with clinic only to have countless call-backs and phone messages to rummage through before I can go home and finally eat and take my daily piss. My nurse is useless and I’m paying her salary with my bonus. I work the most and get paid the least. 

[CAAdmission]

8 minutes ago, ANESMCR said:

I feel this. I’m in outpatient/inpatient GI. Almost through the first year of this specialty. I get the dumpster fire patients. 

I had a job like that once. Positive side is that you learn a hell of a lot really fast, so when you are ready to move on you are a pro. 

[bluiz1997]

On 10/28/2020 at 9:08 AM, CJAdmission said:

That's part of the secret to recovering from burnout. Most of the time good enough is good enough. 

So true.  Hard for perfectionists to change their stripes but so true.  In 2020 it is almost impossible to strive for anything more.