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Teresa Pullara Brandt, MD

Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:587-588.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Burnout. The word is peculiarly descriptive, its sound as discordant to the ear as its presence is to the spirit. It has become so prevalent in our profession, it now qualifies, along with surgical pearls and autoimmune diseases, as a topic for discussion in focus groups at American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) meetings. Some of us might, in the wake of September 11, restructure our perspective on burnout; it seems a selfish emotion—who could be petty enough to express boredom or dissatisfaction with a lucrative career when our country is under attack? Tragedy of such magnitude dwarfs our discomfort, reducing it to so much whining.

But here's the nasty, brutish, and short fact: Burnout persists. We still cannot shake the undercurrent of dissatisfaction that pulls at our psyches, draining aliquots of enthusiasm a trickle at a time until we reach a critical point. At this point, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

From the Division of Dermatology, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa.