Strategies to prevent practitioner burnout
As health practitioners, we know about burnout. We share social media posts and treat clients with this. But how vigilant are we when it comes to noticing the warning signs in ourselves?
Early in my career I was fortunate to spend time with a group of experienced naturopaths. Too often I noticed burnout hit, especially around the eight – ten years in practice mark. Sadly this sometimes resulted in exceptional practitioners leaving the profession, despite their business success.
Not wanting to crash and burn, I implemented some prevention strategies right from the start. The first step is awareness. After mentoring practitioners for decades, I have many stories from the frontline that may save you from this fate.
The brownout zone
The stage before full-blown burnout emerges is often referred to as ‘brownout’.
It’s characterised by a gradual loss of motivation, purpose, and engagement around work. In health practitioners and small business owners, it might creep in as stagnation, when your career has taken off and now plateaued.
This phase can be when the shine fades away. Beyond the honeymoon stage, you might begin to fall out of love with your work and feel less excited or optimistic starting a new day in the clinic. Experienced practitioners sometimes feel like they’re coasting, with no significant challenges. The specialist area they previously thrived in, feels humdrum and even boring.
For some, the client contact is still enjoyable but the admin and behind the scenes work is time consuming and uninteresting. You might feel indispensable, but don’t know how or can’t afford to outsource certain chores.
Does this sound familiar? Brownout doesn’t have to cause burnout. If you listen to what’s niggling you and make the necessary changes or get help, burnout can be avoided.
Burning out
The niggles didn’t go away. You ignored them or couldn’t work out how to solve the issues effectively on your own.
When burnout hits, it can be a combination of:
- exhaustion: everything work-related feels like an effort
- inefficiency: the dreaded to-do list keeps growing and you feel like you’re running but getting nowhere fast
- negativity or cynicism: this could manifest towards the profession/industry or feeling less invested in your clients.
Practitioners experiencing burnout have told me:
“I don’t relate to the profession anymore.”
“My (specialty) clients are heavy going and I dread it when a new one books in.”
“I’ve got no more to give.”
“I can’t deal with all the admin anymore.”
“I’m spending more time running my business than seeing clients.”
“I often don’t sleep well the night before clinic”.
“I want to leave but can’t afford to, I can’t sell my business for anything near what it’s worth.”
Burnout differential diagnoses
Physician heal thyself! Before self-diagnosing burnout, check in with your own mental or physical health.
According to the official World Health Organisation criteria, burnout is specifically work related.
“A syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
WHO
Checklist
- Is there stress in your personal life that needs addressing?
- When did you last have a real holiday and not check in with work?
- Revisit your boundaries, work only in your designated clinic hours, turn off email/phone notifications outside work.
- Are you “quiet quitting”?
Burnout is usually characterised by feeling comparatively ok outside of work and still having zest for other things in life. If you’re constantly exhausted or jaded, please see your trusted health professional for a check-up.
Burnout prevention strategies that work
The basics
Every year I plan breaks — from some long weekends to extended holidays. Initially, to minimise the impact on business and income, I look at the periods that are always quiet or particularly busy and plan around them.
When there have been signs of brownout, I’ve made changes. Sometimes this led to pulling back my work hours or instigating wait lists for new clients. At the 20 year in practice mark I worked with a business coach for a total overhaul in my way of operating.
As health professionals we know, more than most, the importance of regular exercise, eating well, mindfulness, fun and counselling. Remember this needs to be at the forefront of selfcare.
© Gill Stannard
Annual reviews and audits
Since my early years of business, I’ve taken time out at the beginning and/or end of the year to review how I felt about work, including what inspired me and the rub points. I create strategies and accountability around pursuing the things that light me up and ways to reduce the friction.
This is part of a larger self-auditing process. If you’d like to know more, let’s explore this in a mentoring session.
Getting help
The struggle is real. You’ve tried to make changes to your practice but they haven’t worked or you just ran out of steam. It’s not too late to work with a trusted mentor to find a solution.
If not identified and acted on early enough, the final stage of burnout is often messy. Practitioners simply walk away. They wake up one day, say “that’s it” and figuratively burn their business down. Closing shop abruptly or dropping your bundle on clients or colleagues is the end point of untreated burnout. In a career that you’ve previously loved, this is devastating and can leave you traumatised
It’s distressing to witness gifted practitioners close their business without an exit strategy, after years of hard work. Often this can be avoided.
That’s not to say a well-considered decision to close a practice has to be like this. I’ve worked with business owners to create exit strategies that makes them feel proud of what they’ve achieved and optimistic about the next stage of their life or career.
Update May 2024: does this sound familiar?
How to recognise ‘the distant elephant’. Some great tips from Dr Martin Brunet on Instagram.
Need help? Book an exploratory mentoring session. This short video explains how I mentor a little differently.
Gill Stannard is an experienced naturopath and business owner with more 30 years of clinical experience and mentoring practitioners. More about how Gill can holistically support you and your business.
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