Vacations are essential for preventing burnout – even for doctors. But who’s surprised that physicians are affected when they only take five days off? Read here why this is dangerous.
It’s easy for physicians to forget the importance of hitting the pause button and taking a well-deserved break. A recent study, published in JAMA, has shed light on how crucial vacations really are for the wellbeing of doctors.
The study was conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 and looked at how vacations affected the well-being of over 3,000 doctors in the United States. It turns out that 59.6 % of the surveyed physicians took 15 days of vacation or fewer in the past year. Even more staggering is that nearly a fifth of them (19.9 %) only took 5 days or less off.
But even if doctors do take vacations, many still continue to work: 70.4 % of the questioned physicians said they still did tasks related to patient care while on vacation – which means they weren’t fully relaxing and recharging during their time off. The study also looked at why doctors don’t take more vacation time. Many mentioned concerns about finding someone to cover their duties while they’re away and worries about money. Additionally, less than half of the doctors had full coverage for their electronic health record (EHR) inbox while on vacation, adding to their stress.
This dedication comes with a cost as the study results suggest. Physicians who vacationed for 16–20 days (OR 0.66, 95 % CI 0.45–0.98) or more than 20 days each year (OR 0.59, 95 % CI 0.40–0.86) had lower odds of burnout compared to doctors who didn’t take a break at all. Also, having full EHR inbox coverage while on vacation was associated with lower rates of burnout (OR 0.74, 95 % CI 0.63–0.88). Additionally, spending 30 minutes or more per vacation day to patient-related tasks was linked to increased burnout rates.
So, what’s the takeaway? Doctors, it’s time to take that vacation and unplug from work – even from the EHR. Your patients, your colleagues, and most importantly, your own well-being will thank you for it.
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