6 Strategies Emergency Physicians Can Use to Manage Stress
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 9:05 am
Life in the emergency room is full of urgent matters and there is no time to do them. You are constantly forced to make life-changing choices under enormous pressure, which does not always contribute to good decision-making.
Stress is also a part of life in the emergency room. You may have learned in medical school that moderate stress is actually good for you. New research even shows that acute stress can improve your cognitive function in the short term.
But over time, the acute stress of long hours and overwork wears down your mind and body, making you less happy, less healthy, and less effective at your job.
ER Doctor Stress
You know you're working too hard when you end up learning employment database about family reunions and holidays for the first time, and you're putting together photos of these events to create a slideshow for your mother's memorial.
"I missed my best friend's wedding, and I missed countless holidays and special events with my family," writes Kevin Pezzi, MD, about becoming a doctor in " The Pros and Cons of Being an ER Physician ."
Time is a big part of what makes an ER doctor's life stressful. ER doctors often work unpaid overtime, performing tasks such as:
Creating schedules or proofreading and signing dictated schedules
Attending staff and committee meetings
Fulfillment of continuing medical education requirements
Filling out insurance forms
Appearing in court to testify as an expert witness or in connection with a claim
When Dr. Son-Yi (“Sonny”) Tu was an assistant in the emergency department at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center (SLRHC) in New York City, he was also responsible for teaching residents. “So I’m constantly reading medical journals and reviewing interesting cases for presentations,” Tu told CNN. “In addition, I have a responsibility to my patients to stay up-to-date on new medical developments and treatments. This includes constantly re-certifying and reading journals.”
There will always be some stress in the emergency room. But there are things you can do to reduce unnecessary stress and better manage the stress that can’t be avoided.
Here are five strategies that emergency physicians have found helpful in dealing with prolonged acute stress. Since the biggest issue is time, the first three strategies you suggest all relate to that.
1. Manage your schedule
Taking control of how you use your time is one of the most effective things you can do to reduce your stress levels. “Most of us experience stress when we feel like we have no control over events in our lives,” psychologist Jeffrey Janata, Ph.D., told ABC News. “Time management — being careful about how we use our time, how we allocate it — can improve our sense of control.”
As an ER physician, it can be hard to feel like you have control over your time. But there are opportunities to make a statement and use your time if you are willing to look for them.
First, Janata recommends that you take an assessment of how you currently use your time. For example, Vermont emergency physician Joshua L. Harris, MD, told Lifehacker that he spends about a third of his time meeting with patients in person. He spends another third reviewing past notes, lab work, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds, and making phone calls to other doctors. The final third is “documentation time.”
Is the same true for you? How many hours a week do you spend on the phone with other doctors? Knowledge is power, and the first step to taking control of your schedule is to figure out where your time is going.
The easiest way to save time is with a free app. Check out “ 4 Great Free Timekeeping Software Options for Lawyers ” for some good options (none of which are legally specific).
Stress is also a part of life in the emergency room. You may have learned in medical school that moderate stress is actually good for you. New research even shows that acute stress can improve your cognitive function in the short term.
But over time, the acute stress of long hours and overwork wears down your mind and body, making you less happy, less healthy, and less effective at your job.
ER Doctor Stress
You know you're working too hard when you end up learning employment database about family reunions and holidays for the first time, and you're putting together photos of these events to create a slideshow for your mother's memorial.
"I missed my best friend's wedding, and I missed countless holidays and special events with my family," writes Kevin Pezzi, MD, about becoming a doctor in " The Pros and Cons of Being an ER Physician ."
Time is a big part of what makes an ER doctor's life stressful. ER doctors often work unpaid overtime, performing tasks such as:
Creating schedules or proofreading and signing dictated schedules
Attending staff and committee meetings
Fulfillment of continuing medical education requirements
Filling out insurance forms
Appearing in court to testify as an expert witness or in connection with a claim
When Dr. Son-Yi (“Sonny”) Tu was an assistant in the emergency department at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center (SLRHC) in New York City, he was also responsible for teaching residents. “So I’m constantly reading medical journals and reviewing interesting cases for presentations,” Tu told CNN. “In addition, I have a responsibility to my patients to stay up-to-date on new medical developments and treatments. This includes constantly re-certifying and reading journals.”
There will always be some stress in the emergency room. But there are things you can do to reduce unnecessary stress and better manage the stress that can’t be avoided.
Here are five strategies that emergency physicians have found helpful in dealing with prolonged acute stress. Since the biggest issue is time, the first three strategies you suggest all relate to that.
1. Manage your schedule
Taking control of how you use your time is one of the most effective things you can do to reduce your stress levels. “Most of us experience stress when we feel like we have no control over events in our lives,” psychologist Jeffrey Janata, Ph.D., told ABC News. “Time management — being careful about how we use our time, how we allocate it — can improve our sense of control.”
As an ER physician, it can be hard to feel like you have control over your time. But there are opportunities to make a statement and use your time if you are willing to look for them.
First, Janata recommends that you take an assessment of how you currently use your time. For example, Vermont emergency physician Joshua L. Harris, MD, told Lifehacker that he spends about a third of his time meeting with patients in person. He spends another third reviewing past notes, lab work, X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds, and making phone calls to other doctors. The final third is “documentation time.”
Is the same true for you? How many hours a week do you spend on the phone with other doctors? Knowledge is power, and the first step to taking control of your schedule is to figure out where your time is going.
The easiest way to save time is with a free app. Check out “ 4 Great Free Timekeeping Software Options for Lawyers ” for some good options (none of which are legally specific).