Even if you love your job, it’s common to feel burnt out from time to time.A study by the American Dental Association (ADA) reports that 86% of dentists claim to experience one or more of these stressful conditions in any given year. This equates to 60 days/year that dentists are significantly stressed and disengaged at work.
Signs and Symptoms of Burnout
- Insomnia,
- Lack of energy,
- Lack of regular meals or interruption in eating patterns,
- Running late due to lack of concentration,
- Fatigue,
- Lightheadedness,
- Colds,
- Migraines,
- Muscle aches,
- Nausea,
- Difficulty breathing, and
- Feelings of not having a purpose in life.
Changes at the job, team, or organizational level are often required.
TIPS TO AVOID BURN-OUT:
1. Take care of yourself
When you’re constantly busy it’s easy to forget to take care of your body in other ways. To reduce stress long term it’s important to incorporate a few habits into your daily routine that ensure you treat yourself well. Set aside time each day for yourself, it can be as little as fifteen minutes first thing in the morning or later in the evening. Use this time to meditate, fill in a journal, read a book, or just sit outside and take a break.2. Manage your time
The most important strategy for time management is to prioritize. You must take the time to review the task you have at hand and determine what level of a priority this task takes — especially given the fact that your day is filled with treating patients. Do not plan too tightly and be realistic as to the time it would take for you to complete the task. It's a good idea to schedule the unpleasant task early in the day. 3. Make your working environment more trustworthy The key to a productive practice, where outstanding people come, stay, and perform productively, is to create and maintain a healthy working environment. Every business and every person will have problems in their lives. Face those problems and involve the team in the solutions.Free for members
Keep reading — it's free
The rest of this article is open to DentalReach members. Create a free account, or sign in, and every article on the site opens in full.
