Can A Sabbatical Actually Cure Burnout?

In this episode of the So You Want to Work in Healthcare podcast, host Leigha, a physician assistant, delves into the pressing issue of burnout in the healthcare profession. She explores the concept of taking a sabbatical as a potential remedy for burnout, sharing her personal experiences and insights. Leigha emphasizes that while a sabbatical can be a transformative decision, it is crucial to approach this time off with intention and purpose. She candidly discusses the common misconception that simply stepping away from work will magically resolve burnout, urging listeners to consider how they can effectively use their time away to truly reset and heal. Tune in for practical advice on navigating burnout and rediscovering the life you deserve, both in and out of scrubs.

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*Not Medical Advice. Our views do not reflect the views of our employers.*

Transcript

Leigha:
Welcome back to the So You Want to Work in Healthcare podcast. I'm Leigha, a physician assistant who knows firsthand how burnout can push us to the edge. This season, we're doing things a little differently. I'll still be sitting down with incredible healthcare professionals to share their stories, but I'll also be bringing you more episodes where we get real about the challenges we face in medicine and how to start healing from our burnout. Together, we'll talk about what it actually takes to pause, reset, and rediscover the life you deserve, in and out of scrubs. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the So You Want to Work in Health Care podcast. I'm your host, Leigha. And today, I want to talk to you about something I know a lot of you are curious about, and honestly, something I've lived through myself. It's the big question. Can a sabbatical really help you overcome burnout? Because if you're anything like I was, the thought of just walking away from your job for a while sounds like the ultimate solution. Just take time off, go travel, rest, and magically, poof, the burnout will be gone, right? Well, not exactly. I'm here to tell you a sabbatical can absolutely be the best decision you'll ever make for your burnout. It was for me. But, and this is a big but, only if you use that time with intention. And that's what I want to dive into today. From one healthcare professional to another, I just want to talk to you one-on-one today, just me and you. So let's start here. Time off by itself isn't enough. I know that might be like disappointing to hear, but I learned this the hard way and I want to make sure you don't make the same mistakes that I did. When I first stepped away from my PA job after over a decade of working in a really busy orthopedic surgery practice, I thought, yes, this is it. This is the cure. I was so fried. I was so done. I just needed out at that point, honestly. At first, I threw myself into travel. Like, we started immediately. From the time I resigned, we basically booked a last minute flight to London and just did all the things. Lots of planes, lots of new cities, meeting up with friends, like new experiences every single day. And it was definitely fun. Don't get me wrong. But after a while, I realized something. I didn't actually feel better. Dare I say, emotionally at times, I was feeling a little bit worse. And I think it was because not only was I just going, going, going, I was now also in a position where I had just quit my job of over 10 years. left all my friends and family to go halfway across the world and got rid of our apartment in New York City, got rid of our car, like big life changes were happening. And in addition, we had just gotten engaged. So this should be like a really, really happy time, right? And it was. But I really was having a hard time and I started beating myself up about it. During these first couple months of traveling, I was still exhausted. I felt restless. I was still carrying that weight of my burnout with me. And I had this light bulb moment. I realized I was just repeating the exact same patterns that got me burnt out in the first place. Just constant going, going, going, constant distraction. Only this time, I wasn't doing it in a hospital. I was doing it on the road. And here's the hard truth. If you go into a sabbatical just running from your problems, you're going to hit a wall. Trust me. Time off by itself doesn't magically erase what's bothering you. And this is where intention comes in. I cannot say this enough. Being intentional during your time off is the only thing that will truly help you overcome burnout. Intention is the deciding factor in whether a sabbatical actually helps you overcome burnout. If you don't approach it intentionally, it's just going to be a very long vacation. And honestly, maybe even a disappointing one, because you'll come back to your same life, your same patterns, your same problems. What I realized after a few months of just distracting myself with travel is that running away doesn't get rid of your problems. It actually does the opposite. It puts them front and center, baby. Like, you have to deal with those problems now. A big myth that I think we tell ourselves is that if we just kind of run away, we can get through our problems. It's not true. Your problems follow you wherever you go. Because when you're working, you've got all these distractions. Charting, patients, co-workers, the stress of being on call. And as awful as it feels, it's actually keeping you from really facing what's underneath. As healthcare professionals, I think a lot of us are really, really good at distracting ourselves. I know I am for sure. We take care of others and avoid taking care of ourselves. When all those distractions are stripped away, suddenly it's just you. And whatever you've been avoiding for years, it finally has room to show up. I know this sounds scary, but stay with me because the reward here is so much greater than anything I've ever experienced. For me, having to deal with my problems was uncomfortable at first. Honestly, it felt worse. It was like, why am I in this beautiful place doing all these things I love with the person I love, but still when someone asks me if I'm having a blast, I want to say no. Obviously, I would tell people I was having a good time. because I didn't want to face that. But it was a total mindfuck, to be honest. Excuse my language. I fought this feeling for months. But here's the good news. When the distractions are gone and the scary feelings show up, that's also where the healing starts. Burnout is complex. It's different for everyone and can include many different emotions. But when you actually sit with it, when you face the stuff that's been eating at you, that's when you start to move through burnout. Hey, healthcare pros, are you feeling stuck in burnout? I put together a free sabbatical starter guide that gives you the first steps to plan, budget and take time off without derailing your career. It's the roadmap I wish I had sooner. Download it free today. Just click the link in the show notes and start your healing journey. Now, I want to make one thing really clear. I'm not saying you have to spend your entire sabbatical in deep reflection mode, or like doing therapy 24-7, or even journaling every single day. That doesn't sound fun, and it doesn't even have to be the majority of your experience, but it does need to be a part of it. What I'm saying is that you need to dedicate some of your time to slowing down and actually reflecting because otherwise you're just going to recreate the same burnout patterns. Think about how most of us do vacations. We cram them full of activity and then we come back exhausted, right? We joke about needing a vacation after a vacation. That doesn't work for burnout recovery. A sabbatical gives you something a vacation never does, though. Time and space. And when you use that time to slow down, even just for part of your trip, that's when you start to get clarity. Think of your sabbatical as the vehicle to overcoming burnout. Like, your car is the vehicle that gets you from point A to point B, right? But you have to know how to drive and use the car. You have to know how to turn it on and step on the gas, and you need a map. Whether it's in your head or on Google Maps, you need that roadmap to get you to your destination. A sabbatical is your car. It's the vehicle that gives you the time, the space, and freedom to work through burnout. If you don't have a roadmap, you'll never overcome it. For me, some of the most powerful moments weren't in the big exciting destinations, actually. They were in the quiet in between times, like long hikes where I could just zone out and kind of like really do some reflecting or sitting on the beach looking at the waves. Honestly, some of my best thinking comes in the shower. I don't know why, but I'll just be like in the shower and all my thoughts are lining up and I have all these revelations. Also, talking things through with my partner when I finally did decide to face things that were bothering me was super helpful. Even just letting myself rest without guilt. This one is so hard for me. I still struggle with this, but it's gotten a lot better. It's just really hard for me to just fully rest without feeling guilty about it. I think a lot of us who work in healthcare or any profession that is stressful, we feel this way. We're used to like being productive and that being connected to our worth, but it really shouldn't. I remember when I'd be working long hours at the hospital and let's say my partner and I were having like a serious conversation and I would have to end the conversation early because I had to go into work or because a patient was calling and I was on call. You know, those things that distract you from doing real work in everyday life, those are the things that you get to take out of your life when you take a sabbatical and you get to focus more on what really matters if you choose to. And here's something practical if you're listening and actually considering a sabbatical yourself. Ask yourself these questions. One, what am I actually running from? Two, what patterns of burnout do I keep repeating? And three, what would a truly sustainable lifestyle look like for me when I go back? These questions are uncomfortable sometimes, but they're also freeing because they point you toward the changes that you actually need to make. So here's where I land on all of this. A sabbatical doesn't cure burnout by itself, but it does create the container where healing can actually happen. And it can be a pretty cool container. This time off is whatever you want it to be. And that is the beauty of it. It gives you time. It gives you space. It takes away the distractions. And if you use that intentionally, it can truly be life changing. And you get to choose where it happens. My advice would be to choose a place you know you'll love. If you love the beach, rent that oceanside apartment in Spain. If you like the mountains, set yourself up in a cabin in Switzerland. Like, why not? Or maybe you want a sabbatical staycation in your own cozy home with your family, your kids, your dogs, whatever it is. Make sure it's somewhere you feel truly at peace. In my experience, once I stopped running and actually started facing what was going on, my burnout shifted. I started to feel lighter. I started to reconnect with myself and my partner. Not just the PA, not just the healthcare worker, but like the real human underneath of it all. And eventually I felt something I hadn't felt in years, which was excitement. I was excited for life, for what could come next. I was excited for orthopedics. I know this sounds crazy, but stepping away brought out like that nerdy ortho side of me. I was excited for my career. I finally felt like I wanted to delve back into being a PA. But at the same time, I was also giving attention to everything else I love, like surfing, soccer, exploring different cultures, trying different foods, going to for sunset drinks on the beach. Like, I'm able to do all of that now. And that's when I knew I wasn't just surviving burnout anymore. I had actually moved through it. But it took a while. Not gonna lie. I want you guys to learn from my mistakes, though. That's why I created my course where I teach burnt-out healthcare professionals how to take meaningful sabbaticals. I truly want you guys to do this right if it's something you're interested in. And learn from my mistakes. Here's exactly what I would have done differently. Instead of diving head first into full travel mode, I would have definitely chosen my favorite destination for me at the time that was the north of Spain. And I would have stayed there for a month or two first. That would have given me the time to relax, reflect, and start the process of overcoming my burnout. Then I would have dove into the heavy travel when I felt ready. So if you are considering taking time off, think about what I just said. It could be the difference between a successful sabbatical and an unsuccessful one, for real. And I think this is especially powerful for health care workers because, let's be real, in our normal lives, we don't have time to slow down. We don't have time to sit with our feelings. We're constantly running from shift to shift or char to char, patient to patient. Even when we take vacations, they're short and jam-packed and we come back more tired than when we left. Plus, society doesn't let us take long vacations. Like, a long vacation to a healthcare worker is like five days. So give yourself some grace here. That's why I believe a sabbatical is one of the best tools or vehicles we have for actually overcoming burnout. It finally gives us the time and space to do the inner work and have a ton of fun at the same time. So to wrap this episode up, can a sabbatical help you overcome burnout? Absolutely, but only if you are intentional. Time off alone will not cut it. You have to use that time to face what you've been avoiding, to reflect and to create a vision for something more sustainable. It's not easy work, but once you do it, and I know you can do it, Once you allow yourself that space, that's when the healing really happens. And I can tell you firsthand, as I sit here in my oceanfront Airbnb in Australia recording this episode, it is 1000% worth it. My sabbatical was the best decision I've ever made for my career, my health, and honestly, my whole life. And if you're considering it, my advice is this. Don't just fill your time. Use it with intention. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the So You Want to Work in Health Care podcast. If this resonated with you, please share it with a friend who's running on empty. And if you're thinking about taking your own sabbatical, stick around because I've got a lot more episodes coming up where we will talk you through how to plan one with purpose. And I'll be interviewing health care professionals in all sorts of roles and getting their take on burnout and how to overcome it. Until next time, take care of yourself. This is the So You Want to Work in Healthcare podcast with new episodes every month. Don't forget to subscribe to stay up to date on the latest releases.