National Doctors’ Day – Medical Workers Need our Empathy more than Ever this Year

With more advancements, tools, and information at their fingertips, the world of medicine has become more complex than ever. Doctors have an overwhelming job to diagnose multiple illnesses, treat more and more patients in less time, while all having to navigate the strain on the medical system that COVID is still bringing on. 

Dr. Gail Gazelle MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Master Certified Coach for physicians provides commentary this National Doctors’ Day on the stresses that our doctors are going through and the need for us to empathize with them. 

“Healthcare in the United States has always been a complicated and high stakes entity. With all the added demands of the pandemic, the impact on doctors and others in healthcare has been nothing short of profound. As a result, levels of burnout are even higher than pre-pandemic highs, and providers are leaving the field in droves. Sadly, burnout correlates with more medical errors, staffing shortages, and less empathy for patients just like you and your loved ones. It is a public health crisis we can all play a role in averting,” says Dr. Gazelle.

At this time two years ago, most of us were sitting at home as our states placed stay at home orders as the virus spread and cases rose. Now two years later in 2022, masking mandates are being lifted and public events for the most part are in full swing. However, for doctors and physicians, they are still very much in the woods when it comes to patient care and navigating this new world of healthcare. 

Dr. Gazelle goes on to say, “What’s most important is realising just how hard the job of the physician and nurse has become. Doctors not only care for their patients but also have an increasing level of responsibility in keeping up with all kinds of governmental metrics, managing the hours required to maintain the electronic health record, and the pressure by health systems to see more patients in less time. Underneath all this is a very caring person who has been stretched to their limit. Healthcare is a human endeavour, and the more we can empathise with the pressures doctors and others experience, the more they can be empathetic with us.”