Step 3: Consider recommendations to ease workload. “You can try to change the workload through justifying adding staff or through putting systems in place that allow you to see more patients,” says Dr. Whitcomb. But what if the hospitalist considers or takes these steps and still finds his patient load to be unsustainable long term? “In terms of feeling like you’re not able to provide safe care,” says Dr. Whitcomb, “once you’ve suggested changes to the leadership and no changes are made, this may become a deal-breaker.”
Workload Leans on Other Pillars
The interesting thing about the workload/schedule pillar of job satisfaction is that, if you are unhappy with your workload, the other three pillars can sustain you and make you generally satisfied.
Dr. Whitcomb points to a 2002 article published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.1 The study examined a national survey of hospitalists and found that job burnout and intent to remain in the career are more meaningfully associated with favorable “community” relations than with negative experiences such as reduced autonomy.
“Workload is not a predictor of burnout as long as the other three pillars are intact,” summarizes Dr. Whitcomb.
Jane Jerrard has written for The Hospitalist since 2005.
Reference
- Hoff T, Whitcomb WF, Nelson JR. Thriving and surviving in a new medical career: the case of hospitalist physicians. J Health Social Behav. 2002 Mar;43(1):72-91