Surgeon Burnout

James Suliburk, MD, FACS

Supporting Surgeons. Creating Connections.

YFA members are acutely aware of the signs of burnout, and have been involved in discussions to find solutions. Here is the experience of one YFA member—a solution you might not have recognized…

Last weekend my wife and I were fortunate to be able to get together with another couple for a much needed dinner to catch up on life and the goings on with the world in general. No work meetings, no work discussion—just a social dinner. The other couple are both surgeons in the area as well. As we were eating at the restaurant, a gentleman approached the table and introduced himself saying that his relative had recently been critically injured in an accident and was taken care of by the surgeons we were eating with.

He had recognized them and wanted to say "Thank you." We immediately paused our discussion to reflect on how much impact this had. I was awestruck at the power of this moment as it immediately drove home the reason why we do what we do. Despite having arranged some time outside of work to socialize, work did come up again but in a most unexpected and amazingly positive way. We finished dinner, and the next day while on call and working a 24-hour trauma call in house, I made sure to tell everyone what had happened. It seemed to lift up the spirits of my colleagues, nurses, and techs as much as it had mine. The topic of burnout is an "elephant in the room" and this experience caused me to think about such a program as a way to combat compassion fatigue and burnout.

About the Author

James Suliburk, MD, FACS, is a general surgeon at the Endocrine Surgery Clinic at Baylor. He is an assistant professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX.