The Demanding Journey of Becoming + Being a Physician
Embracing the Humanity of it All.

by Elizabeth Schumacher, CEO and Founder Affinity Strategies 

Physicians and health care professionals who heal us are essential.  So often we take them for granted and just assume they will always be there.

The health care workforce is changing, and access to care is still difficult for many. We need to remind ourselves that when we seek medical care, the best way to improve our own medical outcomes is to be a partner with our medical team. Work with them. Share the right information. Understand they are just like us.

Elizabeth Schumacher shares her POV on treating physicians and health care professionals as humans. Nurses and physicians are the most trusted professionals in the United States. They are vulnerable just like us and treating them with empathy is foundational to driving the necessary change needed to positively impact the healthcare industry. 

The pursuit of becoming and being a physician is an arduous and rewarding journey that demands unwavering dedication, years of rigorous education, and an unyielding commitment to the well-being of others. The title “Doctor” is synonymous with respect and admiration, but behind the white coat and stethoscope lies a daunting reality for many.

The facts are alarming:

• 28% of medical residents show signs of depression during training, making them 3X more likely to be depressed than others their age. (The New York Times, 2017)
• 66% of physicians say they are more stressed today than ever before. Of that group, 88% claim to be moderately to severely stressed and over 45% severely stressed. (Physician Stress and Burnout Survey Report, 2024)
• An overall declining trust in medicine is rooted in public attitudes shaped by political, social, economic, and communications trends. (University of Miami, 2024)

Doctors Are Human-Beings

So many of us believe that physicians are super-human; invincible, even. We often take for granted that as human beings they are vulnerable too! Health care professionals experience deep emotion, strong connections to their patients, and need resources and a supportive community to help them thrive. As a patient entrepreneur, my company helps build and manages health care associations, which are strong communities of colleagues that often feel like family. These communities offer physicians and health care professionals intellectual engagement and learning, but also deep connection and shared empathy for what the members of these associations face every day.

Unmasking the Vulnerability

We are shining a light on the immense challenge with the intention of bringing more awareness to how important our health care community is, how essential they are for us, and to understand that they need our support, empathy and appreciation. These are simple actions we can take to create sustainable change in the industry. We must always remember to embrace the humanity of it all!

Below are five challenges facing physicians in today’s demanding healthcare environment that deserve our attention and understanding, including:

#1: Rigorous Education and Training

The path to becoming a physician is a long educational journey that requires real commitment and care. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, aspiring doctors undergo four additional years of medical school, which includes: countless hours of studying, attending lectures, participating in clinical rotations, and handling immense academic pressure.  Add onto that residencies, fellowships, advanced specialty training.

#2: Balancing Work and Life

The demanding nature of a medical education and subsequent practice can have a profound impact on a physician’s personal life. As they dedicate themselves to their patients and profession, physicians often find it challenging to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Long working hours, unpredictable schedules, and on-call duties can impede quality time with their loved ones and themselves. Human beings who have real empathy and want to heal others choose this path. Its more than a paycheck, it’s their purpose.

#3: Prolonged Stress and Burnout

Physicians bear the weight of tremendous responsibility, as they deal with life threatening situations every minute. As an entrepreneur who has worked with health care professionals my entire career, I know how they operate- almost everything has a sense of urgency in every aspect of their life. This is because this is how their work is every single day.  The constant exposure to human suffering, loss, and challenging diagnoses leads to emotional exhaustion, grief, sadness and ultimately burnout for a growing number of them. They often face difficult decisions, and the fear of making errors can take a toll on their mental well-being, their own professional standards, and even a fear of losing their license.

#4: Ethical Dilemmas

Physicians also frequently encounter ethical dilemmas in their practice. Balancing the best interests of the patient, respecting their autonomy, and adhering to medical ethics can be challenging, especially when faced with complex cases or limited resources. Physicians are ultimately advocates for their patients- it’s so much more than a transactional relationship.

#5: Burdensome Administrative Tasks

Modern healthcare systems often come with an overload of paperwork, authorizations, documentation, and tasks for physicians. Time spent on bureaucratic duties detracts from patient care and adds stress. The administrative overload, complexities and basic cost to buy systems, and maintain them, make it impossible for many. This especially has a big impact on rural and urban communities and has a direct impact on patient access to care when medical time is spent on administrative tasks rather than saving lives. Time is precious!

What Can Be Done

Healthcare Associations have an important role to play in all of this. They have been there and will always be there as a place of respite, refresh, healing and education. They are not only natural connecting hubs for education and sharing ideas, but at their core, they provide much needed community, helping to improve physicians’ wellbeing through support, education and empathy.

Coping As “One Community”

• The field of medicine is continuously evolving, and physicians must keep up with the latest research, treatments, and technologies. This makes ongoing learning and professional development a necessity. Thankfully, there is a place for them to turn – a haven – for ideas, education and protection. Associations are critical for providing support and advancing overall medical outcomes.
  • We also see that most physicians value the community aspect of association membership more than anything. While the education and professional development benefits are incredible, being part of a like-minded community and developing lifelong relationships matters most. I would argue that in today’s world, the community aspect of an association is more important for many than the continuing education that associations provide.
  • All in all, associations have a higher calling that lies beyond the education and tools they provide to help members have stronger careers and be better at their jobs. Associations have both the power and the responsibility to enable learning, insights, and support members with their overall physical, mental and spiritual health. They have a duty to think about what a real “member benefit” is that stretches beyond transactional things to deep connection and thought leadership that truly changes patient outcomes.

Leveraging the Power of Empathy + Compassion

• There are many studies and reports for how empathy and compassion improve patient satisfaction, trust and health outcomes. Physicians are expected to provide both in their care to patients. However, as they work in high-pressure environments, it can become increasingly difficult to consistently deliver empathetic care while coping with their own emotional struggles.
  • Beyond talking through the issues, creating an empathetic environment—a place where physicians can be present, listen and respond is critical to creating impactful change. Use tools like AI to streamline arduous tasks to use the health care professionals’ time to help patients at the top of their license. This helps physicians and their counterparts to understand that their wellbeing, and not just their professional growth, is at the center.
  • Providing education and professional development is essential to advancing new medical treatments and growing a medical specialty. But community and the support, ideation, and enrichment it offers is at the core of the solution. When the smartest of the smart are together, ideating, creating, sharing data, we have the most incredible breakthroughs.

Inspiring Change, Together

In closing, physicians are deserving of our highest respect and admiration. They should not be stigmatized for reacting to the stress and pressures of their profession in very human ways. We can work to recognize the demands placed on them and work towards providing adequate support and resources to ensure their well-being.

Being a physician is one of the most challenging and rewarding professions in the world. The rigorous education, emotional ups and downs, and heavy responsibilities that come with the territory require immense dedication, resilience and sacrifice. Despite the difficulties, physicians persevere in their commitment to healing and helping others, making a profound difference in the world. Because at their core, they chose this path to help others and help the most vulnerable among us.

Remembering that we are all human, at the end of the day, is so powerful and essential to creating a culture of connection and support. Physicians are human. Patients are human. Imagine the progress that we can make, if we all lean in, drive change, and support one another, raising our hands when we need help, and lending a hand when times get tough.