At the End of the Day in Medicine with Dr. William Surkis

William Surkis, MD,  FACP, is the Associate Chief Academic Officer, Co-Vice President for Medical Affairs, Vice-Chair for Education and Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Lankenau Medical Center, part of Main Line Health in Philadelphia. Dr. Surkis attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, completed his medical school from MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine (now known as Drexel College of Medicine), and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Surkis is passionate about graduate medical education and is involved in a number of national organizations including the American College of Physicians as a Councilor for the Philadelphia chapter. He has been recognized for excellence in teaching with a number of awards including the Leon A. Peris Memorial Award. Burnout nothing but a repeated cycle of exhaustion. Today, Dr. William Surkis shares a way to reframe our thinking by reconnecting with our purpose. When we’re having a rough day or week, says Dr. Surkis, every part of us is saying, “Finish and leave, finish and leave.” Sometimes, spending time with difficult patients and families can feel morally depleting. But Dr. Surkis reminds us to look for the patients and families we love—and take a few extra minutes with them before leaving the hospital. When we’re with the patients we care for, it can be helpful to refocus on why we love being physicians. And it will inspire us to show up energized the next day—and to do our very best. Pearls of Wisdom: 1. If we are proactive in identifying our own deficits, and we are attentive to those around us who are good at those things, we can ask them to help us learn from them. That is the best way for us to grow (and to develop mentorship organically). 2. Build administrative responsibility by writing things down, making lists, and building an organizational system that we can rely on. 3. Spend the few extra minutes with a patient we love when we’re down. Burnout is nothing but repeated cycles of exhaustion. Take a few extra minutes to reconnect to our purpose of being in medicine, so we can rectify some of the exhaustion we feel throughout the day.