The Overburdened Physician I.

Overview

In addition to traditional stresses of the medical profession (in particular shortage of time, dealing with difflcult patients, therapeutic failures, interference of the profession with private life) in retem decades doctors have to cope also with advancing technization and bureaucratisation of medicine which interferes with the therapeutic relation of physician and patient and leads to deterioration of interpersonal relations. Doctors more than other professionals are under the pressure of fears and potential risks and are therefore more anxious. The greatest health risk for physicians is the burnout syndom which can be briefly characterized as the loss of a positive relation to himself and the environment and loss of working capacity.

Key words:
physicians stress - physicians burnout - physicians' career.