Identifying and Addressing Burnout in the Orthopaedic Surgeon.

Throughout the career of a physician, they are subjected to long working hours, high stress, life and death situations, risk of malpractice, significant financial debt, and an increasing bureaucratic load. This, in turn, has led to significant rates of burnout and potential suicidal ideation. Suicide prevalence has increased roughly 30% over the past 2 decades, with surgeon suicide rates reaching as high as 3x that of the general cohort. Orthopedic surgeons are most severely affected, composing 28.2% of physician suicides and seeing one third of their suicides from 2003 to 2017 occurring in the last 2 years alone. We provide the latest data and the current trends in orthopedic burnout and suicide rates, delve into the possible inciting factors driving their increase, and provide recommendations to identify their early signs and mitigate progression.

Sexual harassment: Have we made any progress?

Sexual harassment (SH) is a continuing, chronic occupational health problem in organizations and work environments. First addressed in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology through a 1998 Special Section on Sexual Harassment, we return to this consequential issue. If the goal is to reduce SH in organizations, and we believe that it should be, then a key question is whether we have made progress in 2 decades. The answer is mixed. Yes, there is a 28% decline in SH complaints. No, there is an increase in complaints by males. No, there has been an increase in the percentage of merit resolutions and monetary benefits. Maybe, because how do we explain the complexity of SH with emergent gay, lesbian, and transgender workforce members. One persistent problematic aspect of SH lack of agreement on definition. We address 2 of the 3 definitional approaches. We consider the broad, negative consequences for organizations and for individual victims. Harassers and aggressors destroy lives, leaving long legacies of suffering. In addition, we offer some suggestions for moving forward in science and practice, with emphasis on the role of the bystander. We conclude that SH is a preventable, if not always predictable, occupational health problem. (PsycINFO Database Record

Occupational Stress: Preventing Suffering, Enhancing Wellbeing.

Occupational stress is a known health risk for a range of psychological, behavioral, and medical disorders and diseases. Organizations and individuals can mitigate these disorders through preventive stress management and enhanced wellbeing. This article addresses, first, the known health risk evidence related to occupational stress; second, the use of preventive stress management in organizations as the framework for intervention; and third, the emerging domain of enhancing wellbeing, which strengthens the individual. Premature death and disability along with chronic suffering from occupational stress are not inevitable, despite being known outcome risks.

Missing: critical and skeptical perspectives on comprehensive soldier fitness.

The author read with interest, and concern, the January 2011 issue of the American Psychologist. The Special Issue on Comprehensive Soldier Fitness addressed a hugely consequential national issue and offered a vision for psychological resilience along with an elaborate set of supporting articles, concluding with some comments on "Objections" to psychologists working with the military. While a bold vision was offered and a game plan presented, no data or evidence are yet available (it is far too early in the process), and that should concern us all. The author hopes the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychologist offer skeptical and critical views in future issues on the issue of the psychological health of our military and as evidence emerges regarding the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.

Sabbatical leave: who gains and how much?

A rigorous quasi-experiment tested the ameliorative effects of a sabbatical leave, a special case of respite from routine work. We hypothesized that (a) respite increases resource level and well-being and (b) individual differences and respite features moderate respite effects. A sample of 129 faculty members on sabbatical and 129 matched controls completed measures of resource gain, resource loss, and well-being before, during, and after the sabbatical. Among the sabbatees, resource loss declined and resource gain and well-being rose during the sabbatical. The comparison group showed no change. Moderation analysis revealed that those who reported higher respite self-efficacy and greater control, were more detached, had a more positive sabbatical experience, and spent their sabbatical outside their home country enjoyed more enhanced well-being than others.

Recognizing and preventing burnout among orthopaedic leaders.

Stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout are widespread in the medical profession in general and in orthopaedic surgery in particular. We attempted to identify variables associated with burnout as assessed by validated instruments. Surveys were sent to 282 leaders from orthopaedic surgery academic departments in the United States by e-mail and mail. Responses were received from 195 leaders for a response rate of 69%. The average surgeon worked 68.3 hours per week and more than (1/2) of this time was allocated to patient care. Highest stressors included excessive workload, increasing overhead, departmental budget deficits, tenure and promotion, disputes with the dean, and loss of key faculty. Personal-professional life imbalance was identified as an important risk factor for emotional exhaustion. Withdrawal, irritability, and family disagreements are early warning indicators of burnout and emotional exhaustion. Orthopaedic leaders can learn, and potentially model, ways to mitigate stress from other high-stress professions. Building on the strength of marital and family bonds, improving stress management skills and self-regulation, and improving efficiency and productivity can combine to assist the orthopaedic surgery leader in preventing burnout and emotional exhaustion.

Stress e qualidade de vida no trabalho: o positivo e o negativo / Stress and quality of work life: positive and negative

Este livro oferece 13 capítulos organizados em três partes que abordam o stress ocupacional e a qualidade de vida no trabalho, destacando tanto conhecimentos centrais quanto novas tendências nas pesquisas sobre stress e qualidade de vida no trabalho, campo este que está se desenvolvendo rapidamente. Além disso, deve representar uma percepção renovada para as organizações para que comecem a pensar e a agir de forma a promover um ambiente menos estressante para seus funcionários, conscientizando-os das causas e dos custos do stress ocupacional e da má qualidade de vida no trabalho. A Parte 1 contém os capítulos 1 a 5 que tratam dos custos organizacionais e individuais do stress ocupacional. Os custos são humanitários e econômicos; tanto o sofrimento humano quanto o ônus financeiro são importantes. Os quatro capítulos seguintes (6 a 9) que integram a Parte 2 enfocam formas de mitigar os efeitos negativos do stress ocupacional. Precisamos ajudar as pessoas que estão sofrendo, mas precisamos fazer mais, impedindo o distresse onde podemos e nos baseando em fatores positivos e de força onde possível. A Parte 3 traz os quatro capítulos finais (10 a 13), que examinam e expandem nossa compreensão da qualidade de vida no trabalho. A qualidade de vida no trabalho é muito importante por causa dos efeitos que tem sobre os trabalhadores e líderes, incluindo o impacto do transbordamento para famílias e comunidades.

Creating healthier workplaces: The American Psychological Association/National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health cooperative agreement. Introduction and historical overview.

This article introduces the special section on the American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (APA/NIOSH) collaboration. The section includes an overview statement of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research by Linda Rosenstock and 5 competitively peer-reviewed articles submitted to the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology following their presentation in an earlier form at the 3rd APA/NIOSH conference in September 1995. This article provides a brief history of the APA/NIOSH collaboration forged at the turn of this decade.

Advancing public policy, social science, and biomedical inquiry: state-of-the-art reviews. IV.

In this article, the author introduces the fourth special section of state-of-the-art reviews. He discusses the public policy and epistemological contributions of the 2 articles in this section in terms of the translation of scientific research findings into public policy actions.

Contributing concepts and methods across disciplinary boundaries: state-of-the-art reviews. III.

This article introduces the third special section of state-of-the-art reviews. The conceptual and methodologic contributions of the 3 articles in this section are framed, noting the importance of the public health, preventive medicine, and sociological disciplines represented.