Oncology's Unrecognized Crisis
Oncology's Unrecognized Crisis
I think we have a duty as a profession to address burnout—from medical school through to individual hospitals. Professional societies such as ASCO and ESMO can play important roles in raising awareness, gathering information from oncologists throughout the world to find out what coping measures they have benefited from or what they feel could help; societies could also disseminate such information.
There are a number of potential ways that we may be able to address burnout. We first need to recognize the extent of the problem and the indications of burnout for the current and future generations of oncologists. It's important to not stigmatize burnout or see it as a weakness. ESMO has taken a valuable step in undertaking this survey and highlighting it as part of the Congress. Trainees and oncologists under and over the age of 40 are talking much more about this issue and recognizing that burnout is a serious risk. That is an important first step.
Dr Schapira: What further ways could professional societies help address the problem of burnout?
Dr Banerjee: One of the problems you highlighted earlier is the need to be at the cutting edge of medical science and patient care. The educational sessions at ASCO and ESMO and major congresses need to be targeted at training young oncologists. I think this is pivotal going forward.
In addition to sessions focused on cancer management, societies need to offer sessions about being an oncologist—sessions on career planning, time management, and how best to achieve a work-life balance. We can't learn these practical measures from a textbook. Societies can help young oncologists in these ways, and the lessons young oncologists learn will be carried throughout their oncology career.
These tasks should not be left only to the main societies. Individual institutions and hospitals have a duty to do the same, and individual supervisors of trainees need to be aware that trainees may be in difficulty or at risk of developing burnout.
Dr Schapira: What do you think about individual mentorship? Should oncology training programs assign trainees to a mentor, somebody who not only provides career or scientific advice, or helps the young oncologist to get published, but who also makes sure that they're coping well with stressors? Do you think such a mentorship model would work?
Dr Banerjee: I do. I say that from personal experience. I trained at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and now I am there as a consultant and research lead, specializing in gynecologic cancers. I see both viewpoints: as trainee and as supervisor and mentor. Immediately after I started training, I was assigned a mentor whom I was very privileged to have throughout my MD and PhD training. I'm a mentor now for trainees, and I see my role as not only to guide them in their career development, but also to make sure that they take measures to reduce burnout. I try to ensure that they leave work on time and optimize their time-management skills so that they can achieve all that they want to achieve.
When I was training, we had access to psychology support specialists who visited in the hospital every 2 weeks or so. We set aside time when our pagers didn't go off; we would all meet at lunchtime and talk about anything that we as trainees wanted to talk about. I found that very, very helpful. Measures like that can really help. I'm also very interested to find out from others around the world what interventions they think may be helpful to take forward.
Dr Schapira: The original burnout study was reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology back in the early 1990s, by Whippen and Canellos. They said that oncologists had an "exaggerated commitment to work." Now, about 25 years later, do you think that young oncologists still have an exaggerated commitment to work?
Dr Banerjee: I don't think it's exaggerated. I think that every doctor and every professional working with patients shares dedication and commitment. My view is that being a doctor is a vocation rather than just a job. That's very much the case for oncologists. Unfortunately, in all professions, burnout is a common problem, but especially in demanding careers. We value the commitment and drive and compassion that oncologists have for their patients. I don't think that should be diminished.
Dr Schapira: Are you optimistic about the future?
Dr Banerjee: Yes, I am. I'm still, fortunately, considered a young oncologist and there are times in my training that haven't been all rosy. There have been challenges. I'm a very driven person, like many oncologists, and there are times when I recognize that I may be close to being at risk for burnout. That's what I try and advise oncologists—that it's important to recognize when you are doing too much, when the stress you're experiencing could be detrimental to yourself, your work, your home life and, ultimately, your patients. That's what we need to prevent, because patient care is at the forefront of all oncologists' values.
I think we have a duty as a profession to address burnout—from medical school through to individual hospitals. Professional societies such as ASCO and ESMO can play important roles in raising awareness, gathering information from oncologists throughout the world to find out what coping measures they have benefited from or what they feel could help; societies could also disseminate such information.
There are a number of potential ways that we may be able to address burnout. We first need to recognize the extent of the problem and the indications of burnout for the current and future generations of oncologists. It's important to not stigmatize burnout or see it as a weakness. ESMO has taken a valuable step in undertaking this survey and highlighting it as part of the Congress. Trainees and oncologists under and over the age of 40 are talking much more about this issue and recognizing that burnout is a serious risk. That is an important first step.
Can Mentorship Help Prevent Burnout?
Dr Schapira: What further ways could professional societies help address the problem of burnout?
Dr Banerjee: One of the problems you highlighted earlier is the need to be at the cutting edge of medical science and patient care. The educational sessions at ASCO and ESMO and major congresses need to be targeted at training young oncologists. I think this is pivotal going forward.
In addition to sessions focused on cancer management, societies need to offer sessions about being an oncologist—sessions on career planning, time management, and how best to achieve a work-life balance. We can't learn these practical measures from a textbook. Societies can help young oncologists in these ways, and the lessons young oncologists learn will be carried throughout their oncology career.
These tasks should not be left only to the main societies. Individual institutions and hospitals have a duty to do the same, and individual supervisors of trainees need to be aware that trainees may be in difficulty or at risk of developing burnout.
Dr Schapira: What do you think about individual mentorship? Should oncology training programs assign trainees to a mentor, somebody who not only provides career or scientific advice, or helps the young oncologist to get published, but who also makes sure that they're coping well with stressors? Do you think such a mentorship model would work?
Dr Banerjee: I do. I say that from personal experience. I trained at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and now I am there as a consultant and research lead, specializing in gynecologic cancers. I see both viewpoints: as trainee and as supervisor and mentor. Immediately after I started training, I was assigned a mentor whom I was very privileged to have throughout my MD and PhD training. I'm a mentor now for trainees, and I see my role as not only to guide them in their career development, but also to make sure that they take measures to reduce burnout. I try to ensure that they leave work on time and optimize their time-management skills so that they can achieve all that they want to achieve.
When I was training, we had access to psychology support specialists who visited in the hospital every 2 weeks or so. We set aside time when our pagers didn't go off; we would all meet at lunchtime and talk about anything that we as trainees wanted to talk about. I found that very, very helpful. Measures like that can really help. I'm also very interested to find out from others around the world what interventions they think may be helpful to take forward.
'Exaggerated' Commitment: Standard for Oncologists
Dr Schapira: The original burnout study was reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology back in the early 1990s, by Whippen and Canellos. They said that oncologists had an "exaggerated commitment to work." Now, about 25 years later, do you think that young oncologists still have an exaggerated commitment to work?
Dr Banerjee: I don't think it's exaggerated. I think that every doctor and every professional working with patients shares dedication and commitment. My view is that being a doctor is a vocation rather than just a job. That's very much the case for oncologists. Unfortunately, in all professions, burnout is a common problem, but especially in demanding careers. We value the commitment and drive and compassion that oncologists have for their patients. I don't think that should be diminished.
Dr Schapira: Are you optimistic about the future?
Dr Banerjee: Yes, I am. I'm still, fortunately, considered a young oncologist and there are times in my training that haven't been all rosy. There have been challenges. I'm a very driven person, like many oncologists, and there are times when I recognize that I may be close to being at risk for burnout. That's what I try and advise oncologists—that it's important to recognize when you are doing too much, when the stress you're experiencing could be detrimental to yourself, your work, your home life and, ultimately, your patients. That's what we need to prevent, because patient care is at the forefront of all oncologists' values.
Source...