31. Is Moral Injury the Cause of Physician Burnout?

Physician burnout has attained epidemic proportions. It is highest among all professions and new research indicates that doctors commit suicide at a rate that is twice that of the general population, leading to a loss of approximately one physician per day. And it’s not only doctors who are at risk. Patients too may suffer the consequences, as medical errors have now been linked to the issue of physician depression and burnout.

The true causes of this epidemic remain hotly contested but our two distinguished guests have recently published a highly provocative essay whose thesis has resonated with many doctors.

Wendy Dean is a psychiatrist who is senior vice-president of program operations at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Simon Talbot is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in the Brigham Hospital’s division of plastic surgery.

The Accad and Koka Report podcast, hosted by two MDs, focuses on free-market approaches to medicine and health. Subscribe on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, or via RSS.