Humane Solutions to Clinician Distress

Julie Kutac MA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch
Rimma Osipov MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Medicine and Social Medicine, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Starting with a “hands-on” example, this presentation explores ways that insights, language and pedagogical techniques from the humanities can help us better understand clinician distress highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on insights from the prior presentation in this series, Insult to Injury: COVID-19 and Clinician “Burnout”, that challenged us to think past the language of “burnout,” we explore other ways to describe and counteract the emotional toll of trying to care for patients in an uncertain, unfair, and demanding world.