Physician wellness in allergy and immunology: Personal resiliency.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Physician burnout and wellness are vital and current issues in medicine, including allergy and immunology. Resilience involves the ability to rebound from personal and professional adversities. Improving individual resilience can be used to combat many of these stresses. DATA SOURCES PubMed database and the worldwide web were searched for articles on physician wellness and resilience. STUDY SELECTIONS Peer-reviewed scholarly review articles, peer-reviewed scientific research articles, and articles from internet websites on wellness and resilience were utilized as study selections. RESULTS: Physicians deal with many occupational stresses, including bureaucratic tasks, employment change, discrimination, difficult personalities, financial issues, and retirement. Personal stresses may include marital or relationship issues, loss of a family member, and mental and physical conditions. A variety of techniques can be used to improve personal resilience. These include addressing individual mental and physical health care issues; focusing on adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise; maintaining a positive and hopeful outlook; addressing spirituality; and adding daily humor. CONCLUSION: As we address our own wellness and improve our resilience as physicians, the healthier we become and the better we can advocate for our patients and our specialty of allergy and immunology.