Burnout has become a serious threat to the health of medical students these days. This is especially true among senior medical students with a heavy workload paired with other emotional factors. Students can often succumb to depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, impaired concentration & attention, anger, and insomnia.
Burnout causes personal and professional imbalance and is insidious in nature, often a person barely realizes he/she is on the borderline of burnout. The classic symptoms of burnout fall into 3 categories- Social, Attitude, and Physical.
· Social symptoms: This is seen when a person becomes much more irritable, lonely, uninterested in family matters, feels/displays lack of intimacy, and excessive anger.
· Attitude symptoms: This can present as avoiding work & responsibilities, loss of confidence, increased dependence on drugs & alcohol, as well as a wide spectrum of emotional turbulence.
· Physical symptoms: Students may complain of feeling physically tired all the time, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, sudden weight loss or weight gain, migraines, gastric issues, frequent anxiety attacks, and other health-related ailments.
Without proper support, a person can experience serious psychological problems which can possibly even lead to suicide. Fortunately, many universities in the United States are equipped with services and equipment to help with such issues. It is important to familiarize yourself with the services available at your university in case you or a friend should need help.
To tackle burnout during the early stages students often are advised to join support groups, talk to loved ones, and speak to student counselors. By getting help early on and initiating this first step, the students are often able to re-evaluate their goals, dreams, and regain control over themselves.
Psychologists also recommend adapting one’s lifestyle to include a healthy diet and workout, along with a few days of rest to start weeding out the causes of stress triggers.
However, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms and have already tried taking some time off and talking to others and your symptoms remain, then it is important to reach out and find some professional assistance before things get more out of control. Depending on the severity of symptoms, professionals may advise medications and other therapies to assist in a full recovery.
If you are looking for more ways to avoid burnout, we recommend you check out our recent blog post on “How to Avoid Burnout for Medical Professionals” on our eMedEventsblog.
At eMedEvents, we understand the pressure and stress level that comes with medical education, and so we recommend attending wellness programs and finding strategies for self-care to tackle burnout in its earliest stages.
An empathy-based course could help you reduce your chances of burnout, so why not book an empathy training course with your next CME medical event? Check out eMedEvents for all your CME medical conference-related matters.
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