A Call For Change in Healthcare

More and more physicians and healthcare professionals are experiencing burnout. Hospitals are putting undue pressure by limiting doctor’s time with patients while increasing the nurse to patient ratio. Patients are moved along through the healthcare system like a herd of goats, and we wonder why there are so many people experiencing medical errors.

Doctors are expressing their grievances even more now that there are blogs and social media. As of the writing of this article, the latest articles on the popular site, KevinMD.com, include titles such as “A Doctor Wants to Leave Medicine to Sell Tupperware” and “Don’t Quit Medicine. Here Are 5 Reasons Why”.

It’s becoming clear that not only are patients tired of the system, but medical professionals are not happy either. You would think that with all the different technology we have now that providing healthcare would be easier, but it seems to have made things more complicated. Patients are more informed because of the Internet and they are demanding more answers. They have more questions to ask their doctors, requiring more time, which there isn’t in most hospital environments.

It’s a tough, frustrating cycle.

The first step in change is to admit that there is a problem. It’s time for top-level executives and management in the medical community to notice that the current system is not working. Doctors and nurses are overworked. They would rather sell Tupperware than work another day in medicine. They’re stressed out and afraid of making mistakes. They don’t have the energy to provide the type of care that patients need. People require that basic human touch and to be heard. Patients want to know that they are respected and their health is a priority - not increasing hospital revenue or taking kickbacks from a pharmaceutical company for prescribing toxic drugs.

Perhaps it’s time for the medical industry to get out of the “business” of medicine and into the business of healing people. What if medical professionals could spend just a few more minutes with each patient in order to build trust and develop authentic relationships?

There needs to be a shift in mindset of the medical system. It’s time to take a step back and think objectively about ways to improve the way healthcare is administered. Let’s inspire and support future doctors and healthcare providers so that they remain in the medical field. Many of them are passionate and dedicated to improving the health of our communities. Let’s reciprocate that passion towards them by taking steps to change.