Fighting burnout? I have a prescription for you
From the President
Dr. Olbricht served as Academy president from March 2018 to March 2019.
By Suzanne Olbricht, MD, June 1, 2018
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to accompany a third-year dermatology resident— Dr. Ana Wile from the University of Mississippi — for part of her rotation at the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Chinle, Arizona. The AAD’s Education and Volunteers Abroad Committee offers small grants to second- and third-year U.S. dermatology residents to participate in a rural health elective for one to two weeks each year. The residents care for Navajo Nation patients and provide lectures to primary care providers in the main IHS hospital as well as see patients in two clinics one hour away in very rural and remote settings.
I enjoyed the unique cultural aspects of this experience. Women came to clinic dressed in their traditional finery, older patients spoke Navajo to interpreters who assisted us, and fresh tamales were sold from pickup trucks in the parking lot. Tasty tamales aside, I was struck by the difficulties patients with skin disease have in this remote locale. Despite being resource-poor, patients and providers alike were very appreciative of our care and attention. Likewise, I was grateful for the opportunity to learn a bit about how to help in this unique setting and to think about what we dermatologists can do to serve in needed venues in a way that gifts our unique skills and expertise.
For those of you who are interested in service, the Native American Health Service Resident Rotation Program is just one of many volunteer opportunities that your Academy has to offer. You can volunteer your time with the AAD’s Camp Discovery program and help children with skin diseases. The Academy has also partnered with Health Volunteers Overseas to offer a grant for dermatologists who are interested in training local health care providers in several countries.
Can’t take time away from your work and families to travel? The Academy has you covered. You can conduct free skin cancer screenings in your community by utilizing the tools and resources that the Academy’s SPOT me® Skin Cancer Screening Program has to offer. Interested in mentoring? The AAD’s Diversity Mentorship Program links physician mentors with medical students from minority backgrounds who are considering a career in dermatology. You can also support the Academy’s volunteerism efforts through monetary and in-kind donations.
What’s in it for you? Several studies have shown that health care workers who volunteer actually do experience less burnout. Getting out of the daily grind and volunteering our expertise in a different setting that has need for what we can offer fights cynicism and emotional fatigue and allows an increased sense of personal accomplishment. Certainly it reminds us why we became physicians in the first place, tapping into that sense of mission that we started with but lose as we do endless charts on an unwieldy EMR. In addition, respect for our specialty is enhanced when the wider world and the house of medicine sees dermatologists and the AAD in action in activities dedicated to improving public health and well-being and committed to increasing access to quality dermatologic care.
Ultimately, I think there’s no denying that as dermatologists we are making a significant impact on the lives and wellbeing of our patients. Why not extend the reach of that positive impact into our communities? For more information on the Academy’s volunteer opportunities, visit staging.aad.org/members/volunteer.
