Page 6 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_February-2018

President’s Letter

Medice, cura te ipsum:
Physician, Heal Thyself

By Scott L. Furney, MD do so — and likely will get an earful in return. Taking time to have
coffee or lunch (a luxury we have lost the time for) with a friend and
E ven the people of Mecklenburg County can have the colleague in a supportive network is part of the solution, as well.
winter doldrums. I’m originally from Michigan, and
I can tell you it is brief and does not often rise to the Both of these solutions are in our control, much more so than
DSM diagnosis of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), EMR programming, Medicare policy or tort-reform. Reconnecting
as much as I have seen in higher latitudes. on a personal level with our patients and colleagues may restore
some of the humanity to our profession, and that helps reduce
I see it more now, though, compounding a bigger issue in the our risk of burnout. To some degree, we can “treat ourselves” as
medical profession — burnout, malaise, or worse. The statistics tell physicians with the intent to heal.
the story in stark relief:
• More than 50 percent of physicians surveyed in 2017 self-reported We cannot care for others if we do not care for ourselves … and
each other.
symptoms of burnout.
• Almost 50 percent of actively practicing physicians are planning to (Greek: Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν. Latin: Medice, cura te
ipsum as found in Luke 4:23.)
scale back their clinical practice in the next five years.
• Rates of mental health issues, substance abuse and suicide remain CHARLOTTE AHEC COURSE OFFERINGS

unacceptably high. Charlotte AHEC is part of the N.C. Area Health Education Centers
The issues plaguing our profession are more than just heartburn (AHEC) Program and Carolinas HealthCare System.
and insomnia. Provider burnout, relationships with our patients and
trust in the profession as a whole, are just a few that keep me up at FEBRUARY 2018
night. This is especially true in the primary care fields, where as Continuing Medical Education (CME)
many as 50 percent of providers older than 50 are planning to scale
back their practices in the next five years. 2 /9-10 Utilization of Ultrasound in OB/GYN 2018
When talking to my colleagues, there is a common refrain Online Breaking the Cycle: Opioid Series
about the changes driving burnout: the EMR, corporate medicine, Online Electronic Medical Record on Trial: Risk Management for
wRVU’s, pre-authorizations and malpractice. Please feel free to add Nurses and Physicians
your favorite one to the list. Rather than focus on external factors, I Online Healthcare Communication
thought it best to focus on something I think could make a difference O nline Protecting Your Patients From Air Pollution
today. It all starts with patient interaction. O nline Risk Management: Patient Identification
I ask patients two questions when I see them and the timing
seems appropriate. What is the most exciting thing going on in For more information or to register for these courses, call 704-512-6523
your life? What is the most concerning thing? The answers range or visit www.charlotteahec.org.
from the mundane to the hilarious, but each visit is memorable for
me. I see the surprise and delight on patients’ faces as they tell me
about their grandchild, their great-grand-dog (I had no idea such
a thing existed), or their “bucket list” trip to India. I also see their
fear, as they talk about cancer, addiction and desperation in all of
its forms. In those moments I am energized again as a provider of
care for people, not just diseases. These questions take less than a
minute to ask and have answered. More important, they often lead
me to something I need to know about my patients, and they tell my
patients I actually care about them as people.
We need to do the same for each other as we make one more trip
around the sun as professionals. It struck me a few months ago that
my standard response to the greeting, “How’s it going?” is “Fine, and
you?” (“Fine,” they usually answer). It is efficient conversation but
seemed disingenuous to me. Now, I ask how things are really going.
“Terribly, awful, not so hot, not so bad today” all get very interesting
conversations started. While most passersby have learned to avoid
conversations with me, those who need to talk know they are free to

6 | February 2018 • Mecklenburg Medicine