We Need to Stop Calling it Burnout

November 18, 2021

Andrew J. Sauer MD talks burnout. He says we need to stop calling it burnout. Actually, it’s moral injury.

Article, Burnout, Healthcare

From/about the article: It’s what happens to people on the front lines of clinical care who are forced to witness human suffering while feeling powerless and unable to do enough about it.

@AndrewJSauer Tweet This

Burnout. We need to stop calling it burnout.

Actually, it’s moral injury.

It’s what happens to people on the front lines of clinical care who are forced to witness human suffering while feeling powerless and unable to do enough about it.

500,000 deaths from COVID alone and countless excess non-COVID deaths in America due to inadequate access to cardiac care.

“Moral injury is what happens to people on the front lines of clinical care who are forced to witness human suffering while feeling powerless and unable to do enough about it. #healthcare”

Watching patients suffer and die during pandemic.

Watching patients die and suffer alone.

Watching patients experience complications of delayed care or minimized access to care due to lack of capacity by hospitals overrun with COVID this past year.

Are we surprised?

It’s not burnout.

It is moral injury.

It is a silent trauma.

We need to be talking about it.

“It is a silent trauma. We need to be talking about it.”

Or we will lose more doctors to resignation, emotional detachment, or even suicide which is a legitimate under appreciated epidemic among frontline caregivers.

Please read, appreciate, and share this story.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of SoMeDocs)

Share this article:

Andrew J. Sauer, MD

Cardiologist | Associate Professor | Associate Editor, Journal of Cardiac Failure

Reflect to generate CME credits, when relevant >

All opinions published on SoMeDocs-Mag are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of SoMeDocs, its staff, or editors. Content on SoMeDocs is intended for informational and storytelling purposes only and should not be interpreted as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Readers should always seek the guidance of their own qualified healthcare professional regarding personal health or medical decisions. SoMeDocs is a magazine built with the safety of free expression and diverse perspectives in mind.

Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on SoMeDocs? Submit your own article here.

Check out our interactive communities, to discuss our articles, opportunities, & beyond. Click the image below.

Latest articles

“Pick Your Brain” Is Code for “Work for Free”

A startup wanted a physician advisor.. but not a paid one. Why are doctors still expected to give away expertise that every other profession charges for?

Would You Trust a Physician Who Refused to Show You Their Résumé?

Physicians would never trust a colleague whose training was secret. Should medical AI be held to a different standard?

The Psychology of “Us” and “Them”

What if one of healthcare’s biggest problems isn’t policy, but the way we divide the world into “us” and “them”? A physician reflects on identity, belonging, and what the World Cup teaches us about becoming “we.”