Burnout with Rachel Morris, Cat Chatfield and Abi Rimmer

Burnout has become something of a buzzword recently, but has now been officially classified as a syndrome caused by the workplace. Over the course of the pandemic, clinicians have been under more stress than ever, and evidence shows that burned out doctors are more likely to make medical errors. As the pressure being piled onto GPs, and other medical professionals, is only increasing, the adage of ‘put your own oxygen mask on first’ has never been more apt, but many of us feel that we simply do not have the time or energy to devote to self-care. In this week’s episode, we discuss how to recognise the early signs of burnout, and how struggling with stress can feel like a personal failure. We also talk about practical measures we can take to build resilience within teams, and to safeguard our own mental health, in order to help lessen the burden on individuals and on healthcare systems more widely. Our guests: Rachel Morris is a GP and educator, leading training courses in leadership and resilience, and she is also the host of the You Are Not a Frog podcast. Cat Chatfield is the research integrity editor for The BMJ, and the wellbeing campaign lead, as well as being a ‘resting’ GP. She hosts the BMJ Wellbeing podcast.

Abi Rimmer is a reporter, and the editor for BMJ Careers. She co-hosts the BMJ Wellbeing podcast with Cat.