Lifestyle medicine is a prescription to treat physician burnout

"Lifestyle medicine equips practitioners with the tools to affect change. One of the biggest job satisfiers for physicians is positively impacting the trajectory of their patients’ lives. Having a parent tell you that their child is 'a different person' because of the time you spent with them is priceless.

This is why I believe if more physicians studied and applied the principles of lifestyle medicine to their lives and their practices, we could put a dent into the burnout many of us face. We can build up resilience to the rigors of our work and experience higher levels of job satisfaction as we see our patients get better. In essence, lifestyle medicine is a prescription for physician burnout.

In many ways, I feel that my journey into lifestyle medicine is the legacy my mom gave to me. Arising from the emptiness of my early motherhood, I landed on a path leading me to flourish personally and professionally. I will be forever grateful to her not just for the life that she gave me, but for the life she is giving me."

Cherie Chu is a pediatrician who blogs at Wellness Pediatrician.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Lifestyle medicine is a prescription to treat physician burnout." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/lifestyle-medicine-is-a-prescription-for-physician-burnout.html)