Finding Balance? Trying to Navigate Clinician Wellness

As a resident pediatrician, I talk to my patients all the time about decreasing screen time, getting exercise, getting enough sleep, mental health, and finding balance. It often feels very hypocritical given the difficulty I have in my own life prioritizing my own wellness. The reality of the medical profession makes finding time for wellness and work life balance very difficult. The day to day demands of medical documentation and administrative tasks often blur the lines between work and home life.

Many of us find ourselves bringing work home, sacrificing precious time meant for rest and rejuvenation.

Late nights, weekends, and even vacations become battlegrounds where the quest for balance seems elusive. The toll is undeniable - less time for the activities that bring us joy, like running, cooking, or simply spending quality time with loved ones.

This chronic cycle of overwork not only affects our personal lives but also impacts our ability to be fully present for our patients. Fatigue sets in, and the genuine connection we strive to foster with each child, adult and family becomes compromised. 

Recognizing the need for change and getting yelled at by my WHOOP daily about my own lack of sleep and poor recovery score, I've been actively seeking solutions to alleviate the burden of medical documentation and administrative tasks that encroach upon my time. It is a big part of the reason that I started working with River Records. I believe in their vision to find innovative ways to streamline workflows and restore balance to our professional lives.

Together, we must advocate for systemic changes that prioritize physician wellness. By implementing tools and technologies that ease the burden of documentation and administrative tasks, we can reclaim our time to nurture our own well-being and deliver the exceptional care our patients deserve.

Instead of using increasingly expensive tools to try to use a broken system, why not reinvent and revolutionize the system to actually work for healthcare providers and patients alike?

What if you could have a day without writing notes? Without spending hours pre-charting? Without the endless back and forth about ICD and CPT codes?  What if this wasn’t a pipe dream but a reality?

That is our goal and we would love to show you how.