After spending 20 years in school and countless hours studying, who doesn’t want to go straight into a job working 60 to 80 hours a week? Most doctors don’t go into medicine for the money: They go into the field because they have a passion for helping people.
But at what point is it too much?
Depending on your specialty, you could be working those long weeks for 7 or more years after receiving your medical or osteopathic degree and even further into an attending position.
According to a nationwide survey cosponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA), roughly half of physician residents and fellows reported symptoms of burnout. Left unaddressed, burnout doesn’t just affect your well-being.
Burnout can create serious problems for your Illinois medical license and the career you worked so hard to build.
So how do Illinois doctors avoid burnout? The AMA identifies two primary areas where you can take meaningful action: relationships and physical health.
[Related: How To Obtain Your Medical License in Illinois]
Build Relationships Before Burnout Sets In
Isolation is one of the main drivers of physician burnout. As a resident, you may be new to the area, working unconventional hours or simply too exhausted to invest in connection. But the feeling of seclusion (that you alone are struggling) is both common and corrosive.
These steps can help guard you against that feeling:
- Take time to build relationships inside and outside your program.
- Talk with fellow residents. This helps you find practical ways to manage your days and gives you an outlet for the frustrations that accumulate in clinical training.
- Stay in contact with friends and family outside the hospital. They may not understand every detail of what you face at work, but they can give you space to talk about something other than medicine.
- Build a support network. This is critical for residents at every stage of training.
It can be difficult to talk about your own burnout, but practice voicing your feelings. Your feelings are not signs of weakness.
[Related: Substance Abuse Among Illinois Physicians and Nurses: What You Need To Know]
Protect Your Physical Health During Residency
You already know what adequate sleep, nutrition and exercise do for the human body. As a resident, the harder part is acting on that knowledge when your schedule is brutal and your energy is limited.
But small, consistent steps matter more than dramatic ones:
- Get to the gym when you can.
- Eat a few balanced meals each week.
- Try to get even an extra 30 minutes of sleep a night.
Those seemingly minor actions can meaningfully reduce your burnout risk over time. You don’t need to optimize everything; you need to do enough, consistently, to keep yourself functional through a demanding training period.
[Related: Can Physician Burnout Lead to Action Against a Doctor’s Medical License?]
How Burnout Can Put Your Illinois Medical License at Risk
Burnout doesn’t stay personal. When you don’t address it, it follows you into clinical settings, affecting judgment, documentation, patient interactions and professional conduct. Those downstream consequences are where the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) enters the picture.
Burnout-related license issues can stem from legal trouble outside the hospital or from incidents at work, including substance use that develops as a coping mechanism. Either path can result in serious consequences:
- IDFPR investigation
- Formal disciplinary hearing before the Illinois Medical Board
- Suspension or revocation of your license in severe cases
Recognize burnout early, and take steps to address it before it affects your clinical performance. That’s one of the most effective ways to keep the IDFPR out of your career.
[Related: Does an Illinois Physician Have To Submit to Questioning by an IDFPR Investigator?]
Protect Your Illinois Medical License With Williams & Nickl
Burnout is a systemic problem in medical training. When it leads to an IDFPR complaint, you shouldn’t face the process alone.
Williams & Nickl is in your corner.
Call us at 312-335-9470 or contact us online to schedule a free, confidential 1-hour consultation.
Browse our testimonials and case results to see how we’ve helped Illinois physicians and residents defend their licenses before the IDFPR.