Creating work-life balance and building up their business acumen is crucial for young surgeons joining the orthopedic and spine industries to avoid burnout and create longevity.
There are roadblocks facing young surgeons who want to make a career in private practice, but it is still the best setting for autonomy and entrepreneurship, according to Emeka Nwodim, MD.
Dr. Nwodim, an orthopedic surgeon with a sub-specialty in spine surgery at Bethesda, Md.-based The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics, recently connected with Becker’s to talk about how young surgeons and physicians can navigate the start of their careers.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What are some of the biggest misconceptions that younger physicians have about that work-life balance when they’re joining the workforce?
Dr. Emeka Nwodim: The biggest misconception, I believe, is that work-life balance is unattainable. Unfortunately, that is a misconception held by both young surgeons and some seasoned surgeons. I strongly believe that is attainable, and you have to be intentional about achieving it.
Finding balance is more so a mindset that you are trying to maintain and achieve. It’s important to not fall into the misconception that in order to be a great physician or surgeon, you have to sacrifice your personal life or your family life. Once you have that mindset, then the details and logistics of how to accomplish that become a lot more realistic, such as setting up the appropriate infrastructure for yourself, joining the right practice or the best employment model.
Q: What are some early warning signs for physicians who may be headed toward burnout?
EN: There’s a combination of signs or symptoms. A physician or surgeon who is experienced or heading in the direction of burnout, can become withdrawn from colleagues, friends or family, is cutting back on time spent with family, and not being mentally present. Constantly taking work home and struggling to disconnect from work, depersonalization from your patients or those people around you, loss of meaning and empathy in your job, are some of the other red flags.
Chronic fatigue, difficulty sleeping, either insomnia or not being able to sleep consistently through the night and even getting to the point of having physical manifestations are all signs of possible burnout.
Q: What business skills do you think young physicians and surgeons are least prepared for if/when they do end up going into private practice?
EN: It’s a very interesting trend to see the wave of physicians that are going into the employed model or academic model. It’s definitely understandable with the extraneous expectations, demands, and economic and financial constraints that we’re facing in healthcare. For those who are still interested in the private practice model and in maintaining more autonomy than they would get in an employed model, I would encourage them to not lose that ambition and don’t be discouraged. There’s a lot of value and autonomy that you can’t necessarily put a dollar amount on. If you are a young surgeon who has the skills to really engage in business and entrepreneurship, the best place to get that is through the private practice model. To thrive in today’s healthcare environment, clinicians must pair their clinical talent with the mindset of an entrepreneur and the skills of a business leader.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to young surgeons about balancing that ambition with being able to have a long and prosperous career, what would it be?
EN: My encouragement to younger physicians is to be intentional from the early stages of your career about your work-life balance and about your goals. Understand that it is a continuous process to achieve those goals, and try to not allow the culture of perfection to be demoralizing. Recognize that complications occur even with the best of us. Set your boundaries early on in balancing your work and your personal time. Be ambitious. Understand both clinical care as well as the business of medicine, understand your value and try to optimize all aspects of your profession.
