I am not your burnout expert

*****Scene*****

Wife: Can you help Luke (kindergarten) finish his diorama? It needs to be a scale depiction of his 3 favorite scenes from Wagner’s Ring cycle.

Me: Sure, I just need to complete the wind tunnel testing on Jack’s (3rd grade) carbon-neutral peanut-free alternative fuel source rocket booster.

Off stage – 7th Grade Son: The genetically modified spiders got loose again!

*****End Scene*****

We want to do a good job, but more hurdles are placed in our way. A recent AMA/Dartmouth Hitchcock study found that 50% of physicians’ time is spent performing data entry and other administrative work. Only 27% of time was spent on patient care. Every hour of face-to-face patient time requires 2 hours of EMR/clerical work. We are trapped in a bureaucratic prison. For years, every quality initiative was solved with a new form. To enter a simple note today, we must first “establish our relationship” with the patient, then ably click through a minefield of “warning boxes” signifying impending DVT prophylaxis catastrophes and antibiotic crimes and misdemeanors, next we scroll through a pre-populated postapocalyptic hellscape of minute- by-minute vital sign entries and lab values dating back to inception. Then, and only then, finally, ON PAGE 11, we can meagerly type: Patient at wound care, will come back on evening rounds.