Burnout in Residency: Tips from Attendings Who've Been There
Burnout during medical training isn't just common. It's almost expected and is often normalized. Studies suggest that anywhere from 4.3 to 76% of residents experience symptoms of burnout, including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment.
Long hours, constant evaluations, sleep deprivation, and the pressure to perform in high-stakes environments all contribute to an unsustainable pace that can erode not only your physical and mental health but also your passion for medicine.
And physicians aren’t the only ones experiencing burnout in medicine. Nurses and other healthcare workers feel the strain too, making it all the more important we address this critical issue.
But, there is hope.
This article doesn’t offer generic advice about yoga or bubble baths (though those can help too!). Instead, we asked seasoned physicians to share the real strategies that helped them protect their well-being while building meaningful, sustainable careers.
These are five tips from five attendings who know exactly what you’re going through… and how to make it through.
1. Delegating Tasks and Trusting Others
In the high-stakes, high-stress world of medicine, the pressure to do everything (and do it perfectly) can be overwhelming.
Sound familiar? So many of us, especially as women in medicine, feel like we have to prove we can handle everything ourselves.
Like asking for help somehow makes us less capable or less committed. And, we feel the need to make it look easy or like it is no big stretch to handle it ourselves instead of just accepting help.
It’s ingrained in us from a young age and reinforced in medical school. But here’s the truth: knowing when to delegate isn’t a weakness. It’s actually a sign of maturity and leadership.
And here’s the proof:
“I am 46 years old and I cannot work 12 days in a row without a day off and still feel well emotionally, physically, whatever. I need a day off to just decompress… I’ve made a very conscious effort to give up weekend shifts, rearrange my schedule, and outsource what I can — especially at home.”
Whether it's asking a co-resident to split the workload on rounds, saying no to covering an extra shift, or letting someone else handle dinner at home, these small acts of letting go can make a big difference.
You don’t have to be everywhere doing everything to be excellent at your job. In fact, setting boundaries will not only make you better at your job but will also set you apart as a leader and guide those around you to do the same.
Start paying attention to the tasks that don’t really need your personal touch. These are things that someone else can do just as well. And this can be something as simple as getting groceries delivered, so it is one less thing to think about.
Delegating isn’t giving up.
It’s taking care of yourself so you can keep showing up in the ways that count. Protect your time and energy for the stuff that really matters, both in and out of the hospital.
Takeaway:
Identify tasks that don’t require your personal touch and practice letting them go.
Even just letting go of one task a day, trusting others to step up, and giving yourself permission to breathe can help you prevent burn out, before it even sets in.
2. Embracing “Good Enough” Medicine
Another topic so many of us wrestle with: perfectionism. Especially as women in medicine, we tend to hold ourselves to sky-high standards and then beat ourselves up when we fall even a little short.
“Women in medicine are the over-strivers. We over-perfect, over-perform, and carry enormous anxiety that if we fail, we are not worthy… But we can’t keep sacrificing ourselves to meet impossible standards. We have to rework our priorities to preserve the basic human instinct of self-acceptance.”
“Women in medicine are the over-strivers. We over-perfect, over-perform, and carry enormous anxiety that if we fail, we are not worthy… But we can’t keep sacrificing ourselves to meet impossible standards. We have to rework our priorities to preserve the basic human instinct of self-acceptance.”
To get to a career in medicine, there are some degree of “type A” characteristics most of us have. We have to do well in school, excel in a number of extracurricular activities, perform well on standardized tests, network for letters of recommendation, and more.
Then, residency and the medical education pathway train you to catch every detail, and you feel the pressure of responsibility for others’ lives. But this expectation of flawless performance is not only unrealistic, it’s harmful. Clinical excellence doesn’t mean you never make a mistake. It means you keep learning, growing, and showing up for your patients and yourself.
Trying to do everything flawlessly isn’t sustainable, and it’s not a badge of honor. It’s a recipe for exhaustion. Sometimes, “good enough” is exactly what’s needed and giving yourself permission to land there can feel incredibly freeing. Acceptance of this is also a reflection of understanding and respecting your self worth.
Takeaway:
Stop letting perfectionism steal your peace.
You are already more than enough, even on the days when things feel messy. Give yourself some grace to learn, grow, and evolve constantly – no one is perfect, and you do not have to be the first.
3. Building Unshakeable Self-Belief
The exhaustion, the stress, and the emotional drain of medical training are very real. And our lectures on “burnout” emphasize the things we should be doing differently, like sleeping more, eating well, talking to our families, etc. But, it is not a “you problem”. It is critical to stop blaming ourselves for what’s actually a system-wide issue.
“We are not burnt out — we are doing what we were trained to do. It’s the system that’s taken our souls. You are gifted. You are a superhero. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
It’s easy to start doubting yourself when every day feels like a nonstop performance review. When every patient interaction feels like a test, when feedback hits hard, and when nothing ever quite feels good enough, of course, your confidence can start to crumble.
This isn’t about you not being strong enough. It is not about you not doing enough with your limited free time to feel like a person. It’s about a system that wasn’t designed to protect your well-being.
You’re not broken. You’re responding to something that is broken.
So what can you do? You can build up your self-compassion muscles.
How? Be kind to yourself when things get messy. And surround yourself with mentors, role models, and colleagues who remind you of your value, especially on the days when the system doesn’t.
Even more, advocate for yourself and find people to surround yourself with who will stand with you when you ask for what you need.
Takeaway:
Remember, you're not the problem and you're definitely not alone.
Keep showing up, but not at the expense of your soul. Find people who lift you up and remind you of the rockstar doctor (and human) you already are.
4. Managing Family, Relationships, and Personal Needs
We talk a lot about burnout in the hospital: the long hours, the emotional load, the constant pressure. But sometimes, the real energy drain isn’t inside the walls of the workplace, it’s at home.
“I was happy as a pediatric radiologist. But at home, I just felt stuck. Coaching helped me shift how I thought about motherhood, marriage, and burnout. I realized I could have a fulfilling life at home and a meaningful career — and I didn’t have to choose.”
Residency takes up so much mental and emotional space that it’s easy to let everything else — your relationships, your identity outside of work, your joy — slide to the back burner.
But here’s the truth: who you are outside of medicine matters just as much, if not more, as who you are in the hospital. You’re not just a resident. You might also be a partner, a mom, a daughter, a friend, an artist, a runner, or just a person who wants to feel like herself again.
Finding support, whether through therapy, coaching, mentorship, or just talking it out with someone who gets it, can help you reconnect with the parts of your life that remind you why you’re doing this in the first place. And finding time to prioritize hobbies or things that remind you of what it’s like to feel like you is just as important as doing well at work.
Takeaway:
Don’t ignore what’s happening outside the hospital walls.
Protecting your personal life isn’t selfish. It’s essential. You deserve to thrive in every part of your life, not just your career.
5. Building Your Support Network
We are lucky to live in a time where mental health is becoming more of a priority in the world. However, it is often overlooked in medicine because we focus so hard on taking care of patients that we forget how to take care of ourselves. Your mental health has to be a priority, and it’s okay to talk about it.
“When I started opening up to friends, I felt way less alone. Therapy and acupuncture helped. And I learned to share my warning signs with my family — like when I’m not my usual outgoing self — so they could support me early.”
There’s so much pressure in medicine to look like you have it all together. But pretending you’re fine when you’re not? That just adds another layer of stress. The truth is, everyone struggles sometimes, and asking for help isn’t a weakness.
Whether it’s a friend, a therapist, a coach, or your program’s wellness team, there are people and resources out there who want to support you. The key is reaching out before you’re completely running on empty. Oftentimes, by then, things are much harder to fix when they’ve gone on too long.
Remember that prevention is the best medicine, and you can only take care of others if you take care of yourself.
Takeaway:
Don’t treat connection like a backup plan.
Build it into your routine. Lean on your people, speak up when things feel heavy, and remember: strong doctors know when to ask for help.
Burnout is Real — But You Are Not Alone
Residency will challenge you. But it doesn’t have to break you.
These five physicians share tips with you on how to save your sanity and prevent burnout. By adopting the practices that helped these attendings survive and thrive — setting boundaries, releasing perfectionism, finding support, and honoring your needs — you can protect your well-being without sacrificing your passion for medicine.
At Pinnacle, we recognize that burnout isn’t always easy to recognize. Sometimes, it’s quiet. Polished. Productive. And it is always completely unsustainable.
You are not alone in this.
You are not weak for struggling.
And you are absolutely capable of building a fulfilling, sustainable career in medicine, and we are here to walk by your side.
Have a tip or story to share? We’d love to hear what’s helped you manage burnout in training.
Get in touch with us or share this article with a resident who might need it.