Do Doctors Place Work Before Well-Being?

Doctors are advocates of health. Most of the time you spend with a doctor will be spent telling you how to modify your life in order to achieve maximum health considering the condition you have. If you’re a diabetic then your doctor will tell you how to adjust your diet by reducing sugar and the importance of exercising more. If you’re hypertensive then your optimum diet would be to reduce salt intake as much as possible. A patient who has gout will be advised to reduce meat and alcohol intake. In general you’ll be advised to exercise for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times per week. Not to mention the time spent being lectured about the downside and consequences of smoking and how important it is that you stop smoking altogether as soon as possible. The irony is that doctors rarely follow the advice they give so many times every single day. You’ll find a fair amount of doctors who smoke and it’s safe to say that a lot of doctors don’t exercise either. This of course in addition to the stress of being a doctor can have terrible consequences for their health. There are many factors that lead to this and the most important of these is their busy and hectic work schedule. It’s important for all physicians to be aware of these issues because doctor well-being is important for the community and not just the individual and his or her family.

A busy schedule comes at the forefront of reasons why doctors are so negligent when it comes to their health and wellbeing. A doctor will often see so many patients per day that he or she has so little time for anything else. It’s no secret that doctors have crammed and busy schedules as evident by the excruciatingly long waiting hours that patients experience. This schedule is made even worse if a doctor is also working in a hospital which means that in the middle of their workday they may be called into the hospital for an emergency which will cause an even busier schedule. Working in a hospital also takes away from weekends. If you’re a surgeon then it would be no surprise to be called into the hospital at 4am on a Sunday in order to operate urgently on a patient who was in an accident for instance. It’s pretty hard to find time to exercise and workout when you barely have time to spend with your family. They wouldn’t really appreciate it either if you have half a day off and instead of taking advantage of it to spend time with your family and loved ones you decided to go to the gym. This shouldn’t get in the way of your exercise though as it’ll really make a difference in your life. You’re going to feel more relaxed and stress free which will improve your performance at work. You’re also going to be a much happier person so that when you spend time with your family you’ll be less worried and you can enjoy the time you spend with them more.

Eating healthy isn’t something that’s compatible with a terrible schedule either. You don’t have time to cook if you live alone, and it’s unlikely that you pack meals with you on your way to the office. You don’t really have time to eat a nice and healthy meal. So usually you’ll eat whatever it is you find on your way or whatever it is you’re craving. This will usually result in eating lots of junk and fast food. Both are terrible for your health. It’s made worse by the fact that they’re the only thing you’re eating rather it being a once or twice a week kind of thing.

Another devastating consequence of stress and a busy life is smoking. Smoking is what all doctors dread and getting a patient to quit smoking for good is a victory almost like no other. Despite all these strong emotions that physicians have for smoking you’ll find that some of them still do it. Some started during college and haven’t been able to stop while others picked up the habit later. For starters smoking will make you smell terrible. No one likes the smell of a smoker. Secondly, at some point no amount of cigarettes will be enough and you’ll find yourself needing more and more cigarettes each day. The more cigarettes you consume the worse the impact on your health. Hectic workdays and the constant stress make it more difficult to stop. Smoking is an addiction and you need a healthy state of mind in addition to support from loved ones in order to stop. There’s no health state of mind due to the constant stress and there’s no support from loved ones because you barely see them. The result is a vicious cycle where the smoking doesn’t stop, but rather keeps increasing. 

Now that we’ve identified the problems, we need to fix them. Starting with the busy work schedule it’s important to control your schedule and only work a certain amount of time that doesn’t prevent you from doing other things in your life. You don’t need to work so much that your entire life consists of work. Don’t worry too much about student debt if the reason you’re working a lot is to pay it back as soon as possible. What’s the point of returning your student loans within a few years if it’s all at the expense of your health and wellbeing? You need to set priorities in your life and your health should be at the top of that list. Of course there are things you can’t control such as being called into the hospital for an emergency. This will affect certain specialties such as surgery in general and cardiologists to name a few. If you’re someone who doesn’t like stress and being woken up in the middle of the night then you may want to think of a less stressful specialty early on.

Set time each week for exercise. For instance set a fixed hour on Saturday for example in order to play tennis with a friend. Alternatively you can subscribe to a gym and dedicate yourself to going at least 3 times a week in order to get the exercise you need. Exercising will also help you get better sleep so if you’re working so much that you’re too stressed to get a good night’s sleep then this will also help with that.

As for smoking you really should follow the advice you give multiple times each week to your patients and quit. It won’t be easy but it’s certainly doable. If you adjust your life by exercising and controlling your work hours you’ll be less stressed and therefore more equipped to deal with the challenge of quitting smoking. You should also let your family and friends know that you’re trying to stop. Their encouragement and support will be of great aid to you and they’ll understand if your mood is a little off at the start that it’s because of that.

Doctors are so often occupied with the wellbeing of their patients that they neglect their own. You need to do it for yourself so that you can live and lead a happier life. You should also do it for your loved ones who don’t want to witness your health deteriorate because of your job. Finally you should do it for your patients who will see you as a role model and be encouraged by you. They’ll realize that if you can do it then they can too. It will make a difference to them if they see you at the local gym or going for a run. Get enough exercise, eat healthy, quit smoking, and adjust your sleep. You’ll feel better and your performance as a physician will improve too.