Many physicians and medical trainees face stress-related anxiety and burnout, which can cause increased absenteeism, disability, lower patient satisfaction, and more medical errors. There is no consistent definition of burnout, and it is not a recognized diagnosis in the DSM-IV. The same applies to “disruptive physician behavior”/anger.
Burnout is particularly problematic for individuals on the front lines of their professions. Its impact on physicians is particularly significant because their actions directly influence patient morbidity and mortality. The medical community is aware of this issue, and many interventions have been created to address both the causes and consequences of burnout. However, medicine often views burnout from a pathogenic standpoint, leading to solutions focused on “treating” it by making changes in the work environment or improving individual skills, or both. All three approaches assume that burnout is a condition that needs a cure. This same mindset is also evident in efforts to deal with “disruptive physicians”.
The American Medical Association describes inappropriate or angry behavior as “conduct that is unwarranted and is reasonably interpreted to be demeaning or offensive. Persistent, repeated inappropriate behavior can become a form of harassment and thus become disruptive, and subject to treatment as ‘disruptive behavior.’”
How can psychiatric treatment be provided for a non-pathological condition? The simple answer is that issues unrelated to mental illness should be managed with non-psychiatric approaches. For addressing burnout and disruptive behavior, emotional intelligence assessments and coaching based on those results are more suitable.
Summary
In examining the limited research available, the two issues may arise from the same organizational conditions. Therefore, it might be useful to consider “disruptive physician behavior” in connection with ‘physician burnout.” Anderson & Anderson, APC, regularly offers and receives Emotional Intelligence Coaching for physicians who are described as burned out, as well as those referred for “disruptive behavior.”
