Evolved Physician

Physicians have prescribed proper diet, hydration, recreation, rest, and sleep for millennia. We all know how critical these homeostatics are for good health.

But we don't have enough hands to help with all the work. The sheer volume of it demands every moment of every day and every night.

We devolve into “heads on a stick.” Our bodies become mere vehicles to carry our brains around in service of the work. Our stressed bodies try to communicate with us. They send us distress signals of dis-ease, but we push on valiantly for the sake of the work. We strain to get every task done by day’s end to fulfill our duty to our patients, literally sacrificing our health for theirs.

But when our physiology can no longer compensate, when our bodies and emotions finally break, we must confront the truth: we just can't dispatch 100% of the work every single day with our health intact. Some things must be left undone for another day.

And here's the problem: some of us are...

Healthcare workers deserve healthy work. Every worker does.

American workers are currently agitating for more humanized work conditions. They're voting with their feet, leaving their current jobs in search of healthier and possibly happier work.

Yet not everyone believes work should include health or happiness. For many, work is purely functional, and the best work is simply work done well to reach a desired end. The thought is, “Employers don't exist to make you healthy or happy; they exist to provide a paycheck. Get happy on your own time.” Personal, cultural, and generational lenses certainly color the meaning of work. But a new consensus on healthy work is sorely needed.

If you are a stressed out, burning out physician or clinician, your work situation is wholly unique. As a health expert, you know the damage that acute and chronic stress wreaks upon the body. And as a care provider, your potential impairment from a stressful job can impact the health and well-being...