Why are doctors disengaged?

Disengagement stems from different things depending on your work environment. 

For doctors, it is almost always a result of being overworked, overloaded and overwhelmed.

It's understandable when you consider the pressures medical professionals are faced with. They have considerable workloads, high client expectations and professional demands weighing on them each day.

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— Careers Connections (@careersconnects) February 10, 2019

While this can seem daunting, doctors tend to go one of two ways: Disengaged or purpose-driven. It just depends on how their workloads and expectations are managed.

So, how do you spot a disengaged doctor? And how can you re-engage them with their work?

How do you spot a disengaged doctor?

The warning signs of decreasing engagement are pretty obvious. Have you noticed your physicians complaining more? It's not uncommon for unhappy doctors to begin to feel trapped and, as a result, take on a victim mentality. You'll see them complain about things like their workloads, their team members and even their patients. 

This often manifests into a distaste for teamwork and collaboration. You may notice other doctors commenting on their lack of participation or their unwillingness to do their part. This is another red flag.

When things get really bad, you might even start to receive patient complains about doctors you usually have no issue with. It's not necessarily anything massive like bad diagnoses, but some regular patients will begin to see a lack of interest in their doctors or an increase in wait times.

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— Careers Connections (@careersconnects) January 25, 2019

How can you re-engage a disengaged doctor?

Okay, so we know the problem. Now, let's talk about the solution. There are a handful of ways to amp up the engagement. Here are just a few.

1. Make a commitment to vocalising gratitude

A little appreciation goes a long way. This might seem like a frivolous step to take when combatting long working hours and intense burnout but your staff needs to hear when they are doing good work. This doesn't always have to be top-down either. Peer to peer recognition is invaluable. Encourage your team to point out good work and make sure it doesn't go unnoticed.

2. Invest resources in cultivating a positive work environment

Your culture plays a big role in engagement. If the break room is full of complaining and negativity, that attitude will spread to even the cheeriest of doctors. Make an active effort to create an environment that values a good attitude and a helping hand.

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3. Talk to your team about improvement

You can't engage your team without talking to them first. Begin with asking questions about engagement. What is your facility doing right? What could be improved on? How can you provide better support? These questions should lead you on the path to relevant improvements.

Most importantly, make sure this is a regular process. Showing a continued commitment to improvement will go a long way to re-engaging your staff.