The Effects of Stress on Physicians and Their Medical Practice

EACH day physicians encounter stresses that are an intrinsic part of medical practice. Those who are vulnerable may become unable to practice medicine without the intrusion of seriously neurotic or inappropriate behavior: that is, they become impaired physicians. In nonimpaired physicians, adaptations to the unalterable stresses of medicine may be productive and may actually improve the quality of medical care. Unfortunately, adaptations are often unproductive, resulting in poorer quality or uneconomical care, or they may adversely affect the personal lives of the physician and his or her family. A description of physicians' stresses and adaptations would facilitate educational, personal, and . . .