Self-Care, Resilience, and Work-Life Balance

Resilience and wellness are more than an absence of distress or disease. In the population at large, a relatively small subset of people achieves a full and happy life and is flourishing. The same applies to physician well-being and resilience. There is growing awareness that more must be done to promote physician resilience, increase satisfaction within the profession, and prevent burnout. Both individual and organizational efforts serve complementary and synergistic roles. There is no “one size fits all” tactic for encouraging self-care, wellness, and resilience, but the different pressures at each stage of the physician life span can inform individual and organizational approaches. Attending to personal self-care with good nutrition, adequate sleep, and regular exercise promotes well-being, as does the practice of cognitive-, behavioral-, and mindfulness-based strategies for stress reduction, empowerment, and happiness. Being able to focus on the aspects of work that are most meaningful appears to protect against burnout, as does having control over the practice environment. Authentic social connections at home and at work foster resilience. Good role models and mentors enhance career satisfaction. In order for physicians to overcome stigma and seek help when appropriate, changing cultural norms and increasing organizational support are critical. Physicians indoctrinated within a culture that boasts of superhuman stamina understandably have underdeveloped skill sets for self-care and for achieving a meaningful work-life balance. To achieve what they have, ongoing significant sacrifice becomes engrained as a way of life contributing to high rates of burnout and distress. This chapter provides a glimpse into the real-life struggles throughout the life cycle of a physician ranging from the premedical years to the preretirement years and offers pertinent evidence-based solutions and remedies.