Physician Burnout: The Need for Medical Humanities

Abstract

While the U.S. health care system aims to cure patients efficiently, the way in which society approaches the practice of medicine dehumanizes both physicians and patients. This thesis looks at the issue of physician burnout while claiming that in order to restore the broken system, medical education needs to balance the humanities with the sciences within the medical curriculum. Both the content and pedagogy of medical education needs to form the characters of future physicians. Educating in this way may provide a strong foundation for professionalism that is grounded in the virtues. Chapter one provides an overview of the United States’ current health care system. Chapter two is a literary review of physician burnout. This chapter summarizes the data available about physician burnout including its factors, consequences, costs, and current solutions implemented in hospitals. Chapter three presents a potential solution to physician burnout beginning in undergraduate pre-medical education.