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One does not simply wake up one morning at the age of 49 and decide to start a PhD. Despite coming from an extensive line of teachers, no one in my family had ever pursued a career in academia or completed a PhD, so it was never something I thought about as I finished my medical degree and later obtained my fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. In retrospect, I wish I had gained the insights in research methodology developed during a PhD; however, at that time, I had no real passion to look at any single topic for three to five years of my life.

I have been working at my health service for over 15 years in a consultant capacity and have been the Director of Physician Education twice over that time for eight years. During this time, I have seen some trainees flourish and others struggle. I have seen the system throw challenges at both educators and trainees alike. I have bought countless tissue boxes for my office before realising that doctors crying in my office should not be a regular occurrence. I have experienced too many heart‐stopping moments where I was genuinely concerned about the safety of some of our doctors in training. More recently, I have noticed an increased difficulty in recruiting consultants to contribute formally to teaching and mentoring programs and had candid discussions with other Directors of Physician Education around Australia and New Zealand commenting on similar concerns and anecdotal observations.

This MJA reflection shares more.

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain key components of the reflection
2. List main findings
3. Identify potential factors contributing to burnout. 

Details

Authors: Anne E Powell

Article Type: Reflection