This Doctor Thinks She Killed Her Patient Because Of Burnout

Here’s a fascinating podcast to tune in to: “Sincerely, X”, where people talk about their deepest, darkest secrets, anonymously.

The first episode in the series by TED and Audible is something doctors and nurses will want to give a listen.

A woman reveals how she had “stopped seeing her patients as people” in “Dr. Burnout”.

“They were just diseases and lab values, test results,” she says. It prompted her to wonder, “What on earth is wrong with me?”

The event that changed her life involved an elderly patient who was throwing a tantrum and insisting that he be released from the hospital. He was still sick, but the speaker didn’t try to convince him to stay.

Instead, she just asked him if he was sure he wanted to go, as opposed to talking to him, hearing out his complaints, and showing him empathy.

“On that day, I couldn’t muster up any energy to do any of that,” she says.

She warned him that he could die if he went home, but the man still left the hospital. She, meanwhile, moved on and visited her other patients.

Two days later, he was readmitted into the intensive care unit. He died on the same day.

“A better version of myself could’ve prevented this from happening,” the doctor says.

She found out that she was suffering from clinical burnout, which she defines as “emotional exhaustion, a sense of depersonalization, and deep cynicism”.

Not only does it affect doctors; it has an impact on their patients, too.

Unfortunately, she says, it is something that doctors don’t talk about. If they did, they might be able to prevent it.

The speaker believes doctors must recognize the symptoms of burnout in themselves, and act upon their findings.

“I killed (my patient) because I was too burnt out to care about him,” she says. “He’d still be alive if I’d acknowledged my own burnout and the risk I was to my patients.”


This is just an example of how over-extending oneself can do in the medical industry. Fortunately, nightmares like this can be avoided by managing your time efficiently and know when to ask for help. Contact TukkoMed today and let us help you be a better medical practitioner!

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