In response to the rising prevalence of burnout, in support of the work done by many other organisations, and following discussions with our wellbeing advisory board, The BMJ is launching a campaign calling for doctors to be able to take the breaks that they need for their wellbeing and for patient safety.
This isn’t a new idea. Medical organisations, trade unions, and royal colleges have campaigned on this issue in the past and continue to do so. However, the problem persists and may be getting worse. We will bring these organisations together, along with other stakeholders such as employer and patient organisations, in a united effort to change systems, working practices, and culture to ensure that doctors get the breaks they need.
You can take part in the campaign by sharing your examples of where things are changing for the better or where more work needs to be done through social media using #giveusabreak.
Projects at The BMJ
The BMJ has published a range of articles on themes which relate to clinician wellbeing.
Suicide
• Julian Warshafsky: how this doctor died and what it tells us about the system that failed him
• Suicides among junior doctors in the NHS
• In memoriam—doctors who have died by suicide or accidental death
• The complexity of physician suicide
Fatigue and Sleep
• Fatigue and risk - are train drivers safer than doctors?
• Should doctors work 24 hour shifts?
• "Going the extra mile" endangers doctors, patients, and the NHS
• Optimising sleep for night shifts
Resilience and Burnout
• Resilience: Five minutes with . . . Nicola McKinley
• Ensuring our future doctors are resilient
• Burnout among doctors
• When "resilience" becomes a dirty word
• Greta McLachlan: Please put your oxygen mask on first before helping others
• Peter Brindley and Matt Morgan: Burnout in healthcare workers—are we surprised?
Unprofessional behaviour
• Confronting unprofessional behaviour in medicine
• I'm being bullied by a colleague: what should I do?
• Bullying in the workplace: almost 40% of doctors think it is a problem, BMA finds
• NHS staff get new measures to tackle violence in the workplace
• Scottish health secretary orders independent inquiry into bullying culture at NHS Highland
Emotional wellbeing
• Mei Wen: To grieve is to maintain empathy
• Doctors’ wellbeing—learning from the past can help improve the future
• Moral Distress in hospital doctors
• When doctors need treatment: an anthropological approach to why doctors make bad patients
Working environment
• Walking in each other’s kingdom: A GP-consultant exchange scheme
• Workplace gyms and canteens should suit doctors’ working patterns, says BMA report
• Edward Ridyard: Charging for hospital car parking risks demoralising the NHS workforce
• Why junior doctors need more autonomy
Partnering
The BMJ is the media partner for the international conference, the International Practitioner Health Summit. The 2018 conference takes place on 4-5 October in London and is certified Patients Included.
Advisory Board
We have invited a group of international experts to contribute to our work on well-being and help us to identify priorities.
Alice Hartley
Urology Trainee in North-East England and chair of RCSEd #LetsRemoveIt campaign
Chris Horn
GP, academic clinical fellow, Swansea University Medical School
Chris Turner
Consultant in emergency medicine in Coventry, co-founder "Civility Saves Lives"
Cristin Lind
Patient/family leader, QRC Stockholm Kvalitetsregistercentrum
Efi Panagopoulou
Associate professor of health psychology and communication in the Medical School of Thessaloniki
Faye Gishen
Palliative medicine physician and undergraduate medical educator at UCL Medical School
Jane Lemaire
Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, at the University of Calgary, Canada. Vice Chair of Physician Wellness and Vitality in the Department of Medicine University of Calgary.
Jocelyn Cornwell
Chief executive of The Point of Care Foundation
Melanie Jones
Medical career development advisor
Anthony Montgomery
Professor of Work & Organizational Psychology, University of Macedonia
Rebecca Burch
Neurologist and headache specialist in Boston and Wellness Committee chair
Ronald Epstein
Professor of Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Oncology and Medicine (Palliative Care), American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor, Co-director, Center for Communication and Disparities Research, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Clare Gerada
Medical director of the NHS Practitioner Health Programme and GP
Cat Chatfield and Abi Rimmer are the co-leads of The BMJ Wellbeing work. You can contact them via Twitter on @drcatchatfield and @abi_rimmer or please join The BMJ Wellbeing group on Facebook.