Coping with Stress in the Practice of Medicine
An Educational Teaching Program prepared for the Internet by the Texas Medical Association Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation

The TMA Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation initiates and provides oversight to the development of numerous modules that supports its efforts to (1) promote physician health and well being and (2) encourage early intervention and care of physicians who are impaired. Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Recognize common stressors in the medical profession, including the stress of malpractice litigation,
• Analyze expectations and characteristics of physicians that increase risk for burnout,
• Assess personal risk for burnout,
• Identify physician response patterns as they relate to resilience and the litigation process,
• Apply learned skills and formulate strategies to maintain professional integrity while coping with stress, and
• Identify resources for assistance and recognize when professional help is needed.

ACPE Faculty at Your Place
ACPE expert faculty comes to your organization for group retreats and training.
Gregg Broffman, MD
C. Ken Weidner, II, PhD

In this special report on discouraged doctors, The Physician Executive explores the many factors that contribute to physician stress, burnout and low morale.

Survey Results: Doctors Say Morale is Hurting
by Bill Steiger
Physicians and patients responding to two national surveys say apologizing for medical errors should be commonplace—and shouldn’t be done just to avoid lawsuits.

Physicians Offer Prescriptions to Boost Low Morale
by David Ollier Weber
Doctors describe various ways to fight the depression, fatigue, burnout and stress faced by many physicians.

Speak Up or Burn Out
by Joseph Grenny
Learn the questions to ask and the actions to take that will help you confront morale problems head-on and avoid being overcome by burnout.

Secrets of Physician Satisfaction
by Richard J. Bogue, PhD, John G. Guarneri, MD, Monica Reed, MD, Kenneth Bradley and Jay Hughes, MD
Check out the results of an in-depth physician satisfaction survey conducted at a Florida hospital and learn what can be done to make doctors more satisfied with their jobs.

Politics of Health Care Are Pulling Doctors Down
by Niranjan Kissoon, MD, CPE, FACPE, and David Matheson, MD
To help curb disillusionment, medical students and residents should be introduced to the politics of health care early in their careers.

Five Keys to Transforming Stress into Success
by Manya Arond-Thomas, MD
Take a look at why doctors are experiencing high stress, and learn what they can do to beat it.

Reclaiming Physician Power: Your Role as a Physician Executive
by Edward J. O'Connor, MBA, PhD and C. Marlena Fiol, MBA, PhD
To overcome the powerlessness and fear that lowers physician morale, doctors need to gather together around a common cause and make their case for leading health care.

The Handbook of Physician Health: The Essential Guide to Understanding the Health Needs of Physicians
by Larry S. Goldman, Leah J. Dickstein, Michael Myers
The Handbook of Physician Health is a practical guide for physicians and their families. It helps the reader understand the healthcare needs of physicians by:

• Reviewing known risk factors for disorders
• Helping the reader identify substance use disorders, depression, behavioral problems and other mental health difficulties
• Discussing various treatment options.

The Medical Marriage: Sustaining Healthy Relationships for Physicians and Their Families
Member Price $30, Non-Member Price $40
Many years of counseling partners in high-powered marriages have gone into this compelling account of the dangers that lurk in marriages in which one or both of the partners are physicians. The authors carefully outline those dangers and provide specific clues to their avoidance. The book speaks directly about what it takes to make a modern medical marriage successful.

Managing Stress and Building Team Cooperation Through Humor
from the Stress Doc's Keynote for the 2005 Fairfax County Government (VA) Human Resources Conference
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Working with Stress
from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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A brief introduction to work stress issues for the worker and manager. Topics include the causes of job stress, physical and psychological effects, and what can be done to minimize job stress. (17 minutes)

Surviving Field Stress for First Responders
Transcript of Webcast originally aired April 28, 2005
This presentation provides an overview of the physical, emotional, and mental stressors first responders face when called to technological or manmade disasters and hazmat incidents.

Federation of State Physician Health Programs
The Federation of State Physician Health Programs, Inc. (FSPHP), is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to provide a forum for education and exchange of information among state programs, to develop common objectives and goals, to develop standards, to enhance awareness of issues related to physician health and impairment, to provide advocacy for physicians and their health issues at local, state, and national levels, and to assist state programs in their quest to protect the public.

The American Institute of Stress

Life Positive

Help Guide
Learn to recognize stress symptoms and to learn to identify the situations that evoke them. When these symptoms persist, you are at risk for serious health problems because stress can exhaust your immune system.

Stressed Out!
A WebMD special report