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Nursing

Humanism Before Heroism in Medicine

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: June 10, 2021

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Article Information and Disclosures

Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH^1,2;

Christine Cassel, MD²

Author Affiliations

¹Center for Vulnerable Populations, Division of General Internal Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco
²Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, heroic clinician narratives have been a prominent feature of media coverage. Health care professionals who worked ceaselessly in intensive care units, sacrificed time with their families to travel to severely affected areas to care for patients with COVID-19, and put themselves in harm’s way have been acknowledged and rightly celebrated.¹ For example, New Yorkers had a nightly ritual of cheering and making noise in support of health care workers and offered public support in the form of signs, treats, and other measures of appreciation that referenced the heroism of the health care workforce. However, the pandemic has outlasted these public demonstrations, and heroic narratives ultimately do not serve clinicians or public health.

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Urmimala Sarkar, MD, MPH, Division of General Internal Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, PO Box 1364, SFGH Bldg 10, Ward 13, San Francisco, CA 94143-1364 (Urmimala.Sarkar@ucsf.edu).

Published Online: June 10, 2021. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.9569

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Cassel reported being the co-chair of the National Academy of Medicine report Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being. No other disclosures were reported.

References

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Remnick D . Sunday reading: the heroic work of doctors and health workers. The New Yorker. March 29, 2020. Accessed April 23, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-the-heroic-work-of-doctors-and-health-workers

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Ofri D . The business of health care depends on exploiting doctors and nurses. New York Times. June 8, 2019. Accessed May 24, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/opinion/sunday/hospitals-doctors-nurses-burnout.html

Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being. National Academies Press; 2019. Accessed April 5, 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK552613/

Mourad MS . Donning and doffing. JAMA. 2021;325(6):536. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.26468 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Moutier CY , Myers MF , Feist JB , Feist JC , Zisook S . Preventing clinician suicide: a call to action during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Acad Med. 2021;96(5):624-628. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000003972 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

2021 Physician burnout and suicide report. Medscape. Published 2021. Accessed May 21, 2021. https://www.medscape.com/sites/public/lifestyle/2021

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.