Residency is well known to be a challenging time for physicians. Even before the first day of intern year, we hear about the long hours, hard work, endless studying and numerous other difficulties. This is what residents expect and accept. Suffering will just be the price we pay. We will be stoic and soldier through as generations of doctors have done before. We will grin and bear it as we already have through our own arduous time in medical school. We will suffer and remain silent, because that is how it is done. Even with this mindset, the struggles will be different than we anticipate and affect us in ways in which we will not be prepared. For many residents and attending physicians, burnout is a consequence of our work; it doesn’t need to be.
What exactly is burnout? The word is tossed around in general conversations about exhaustion, frustration...
