One of the great ironies of being a doctor or a nurse practitioner is that the profession of being a healer of others can make it very difficult for these same people to get help when they need it. Caregivers are the ones people come to for help, but in many instances, pressure, stress and the increasing demands of the job can mount, but the commitments to helping other people can make it very difficult for doctors and nurse practitioners to cope with their own problems as they get bigger.

Because of this, doctors in America have a higher rate of depression and, unfortunately, suicide, than average Americans. Part of this can be attributed to personality traits that form the backbone of many successful doctors, a need for perfectionism, and a higher than normal tendency to be self-critical. And when things go wrong on the job, or the job simply demands more and more of people, this can take its toll.

Every Little Bit Helps

Often, one of the contributing factors to depression in doctors and nurse practitioners is the age-old problem of there being “not enough hours in the day.” Caregivers have to do an impressive amount of work during the average work day, but it’s a regular occurrence that what they’ve achieved isn’t enough. Or, worse yet, in order to achieve “enough” in terms of work they have to sacrifice the quality of the work somewhere. This can mean rushing a patient through or even neglecting a patient during the actual consultation in order to make sure the EHR is correctly filled. In some cases, if it’s important to get the job done right, medical staff simply work overtime, taking the time they should be using to take care of themselves to properly fill out the medical documentation their clinic, ER or insurance companies need in order to make sure a medical facility can get the funds to continue running and help people.

It’s no wonder with so many pressures, depression can sink in and have serious consequences not just for the caregivers but the people they treat.

One way to alleviate some of this pressure is through the use of a trained, experienced medical scribe. Medical scribes take much of the administrative and clerical burden off the shoulders of doctors and nurse practitioners. It allows them to focus on their job, do it better, and do it faster. And these seemingly small improvements can have a huge, positive impact on the caregivers involved.

People in medicine have to deal with a lot of challenges and a lot of pressure. But a ProScribe professional can take a lot of unnecessary pressures away, and help medical professionals concentrate on what really matters.

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Author ProScribe

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