MEDICINE'S EXHAUSTED MASSES

Is generative AI the cure to doctor burnout that will allow physicians to focus on what matters most their patients?

- ALEXIS KAYSER

WHEN DR. JENNIFER BEGAN BLEEDING and cramping set in, she had two priorities: get to the hospital and complete her clinical notes. Not necessarily in that order. Jennifer, who requested she only be identified by first name, was five months into her pregnancy. As a family medicine physician, she recognized the symptoms of preterm labor-and if any of her patients had been in her shoes, she would have instructed them to call an ambulance immediately.

But it was only afternoon, and Jennifer still had patients to see. She continued her scheduled visits, then stood at the counter, pushing through the pain and panic, to finish the accompanying notes. "I had to finish my work before I left to go to the hospital," Jennifer said. "It's crazy, but it's just what you do."

When Jennifer finally drove herself—and her laptop to the hospital, her doctor issued an ultimatum: Keep working or keep the baby. Jennifer chose six weeks of bed rest and, for the first time since before her residency, tasted stillness.

During her 60-hour workweeks, she usually saw 25 patients a day with three patients waiting in exam rooms at any given time, spending 10 or 15 minutes with each. She didn't stop for lunch and rarely took bathroom breaks. "I was really efficient. I didn't usually run behind," Jennifer said. "Except I couldn't finish my patient notes-because I couldn't work on notes while I had two other patients waiting for me."

On typical workdays, Jennifer would get home around 6:30 p.m. and then spend an hour or two catching up on notes. The work often trickled into the weekend, typically biting four to eight hours out of her Saturday. "Over time, you think, 'This isn't how I wanted to practice medicine.' I want to sit down and have a conversation and really take care of people," Jennifer said. "I realized there's more to life than working like this."