Navigating Change and Uncertainty: Building Physician Resilience Now
Navigating Change and Uncertainty: Building Physician Resilience Now
Flexibility and Presence for Low Staffing & Value-Based Care Pressures
Resilience in the Era of “Never Enough”
If you find yourself hitting the ground running each shift—already behind before the day has begun, with charts piling up, staff stretched thin, and new checklists appearing overnight-you’re not alone. Today’s medical landscape moves so quickly that “temporary” staff shortages, sudden policy updates, and relentless documentation requirements have become fixtures, not exceptions. In the tide of these changes, resilience is no longer about pushing harder or wearing stoicism as a badge of honor. Now, it’s about flexibility: finding space to breathe, adapt, and focus on what’s both possible and meaningful—no matter how demanding the system becomes.
Adaptive Resilience: Moving Beyond Grit
The old view of resilience in medicine celebrated toughness and going it alone. Telling physicians that they needed to be more resilient implied weakness. This is one of the reasons why the word “resilience” tends to have a negative connotation amongst many physicians. But in this era, those expectations don’t just exhaust us—they’re unsustainable. True resilience, especially when we are faced with chronic low staffing and shifting value-based metrics, means: Anchoring on our core values while letting our approach flex when reality demands it Recognizing that “good enough” is not failure, but an act of wisdom and survival. Practicing self-compassion as we let some “shoulds” go-for our sake and the sake of those we serve.
Reflection:
When have you found yourself clinging to a standard that no longer served you or those you were trying to serve?
What happened when you gave yourself permission (even slightly) to adapt?
Low Staffing: Strategies for Flexibility When Help Isn’t Coming
Prioritize Ruthlessly
On days when there simply aren’t enough hands, intentional triage is an act of leadership, not defeat. Begin your shift/day with a quick “must do, can wait, can delegate, or can drop” mental list. Accept that you cannot do everything perfectly today and focus on safety, clear communication, and presence for what and who matters most.
Mini Team Huddles
Even ith barebones staff, a 90-second check-in at the start of your day/shift can ground your team:
“Given our numbers today, what is our priority? Where can we help one another, even briefly?”
Create space to honestly acknowledge limits- there is no medal for silent struggle.
Model the honesty, communication, and behavior you want to see from your team.
Say “Yes!” to Help-Without Guilt
If a colleague offers to handle a quick task or swap a patient, accept. Remember that you are building a culture of collaboration and that there will soon be an opportunity for you to do the same for another.
Step in to help whenever you can when you notice another team member is running behind or looking overwhelmed, even if just to give acknowledgement. This can transform the day for both of you!
Value-Based Care and Administrative Demands: Redefining Your Win
From Perfection to Best Contribution
When every patient must have every metric recorded and every box checked, ask:
What is most vital for care and professional integrity?
What can be “good enough” at this point so that I can have enough bandwidth left for the rest of my patients and my own needs today?
Mico-Tactics for Admin Overwhelm
Batching: Group similar tasks (charting, referrals, forms) in focused sprints to avoid constant switching fatigue
Technology: Use preset phrases or AI voice activated note writing tools to make documentation as easy as possible
Completion Scripts: Tell yourself: “This note is sufficient for today. I release it so I can move onto what is most important next.
Realigning With Purpose
On overwhelming days, intentionally seek to link one interaction with a patient, a mentee, or a colleague back to your “why”- to your core values. Meaningful impact CAN coexist with imperfection and the relentless administrative demands.
Circle of Control: Reducing Frustration, Restoring Agency
Try this simple practice when overwhelm spikes:
Draw two concentric circles:
In the center: “My Control” (my priorities, my thoughts, my actions, my communication, my self-care)
Outside: “Not my control” (staffing, protocol changes, administrative requirements, other people’s behavior)
Pause and Affirm:
“Today I will focus my energy within my circle of influence and gently let go of everything outside of it.”
Peer Micro-Support in the Trenches
Find a work ally: Identify one “ally” at work and reconnect after a tough case, shift, or day. All it takes are 3-5 minutes to empathize, be human, and/or share a small win.
Model transparency: “What we are dealing with today can be stressful and overwhelming. It’s okay to feel that way. But since we can’t change what is before us, we can instead figure out how we can support each other to better cope and navigate today’s challenges. One of the things that I will do to stay grounded is… (share one of the tips that you have learnedhere or in my prior articles)
Tip: Even a 2-minute huddle at the nurse’s station to voice the challenges present in the day and reaffirm that you are all in the trenches together can lighten the weight and stress felt by everyone.
Reflection and Recovery: The Micro-Rituals that Build Real Strength
As your day or shift ends pause to reflect on:
What did I flex or adapt today that protected my well-being and/or helped me to be present for my patients and colleagues in the way that upholds my core values?
What system frustration will I set down for now knowing that I did my best given the realities of the situation?
Journal Prompts:
Where did I adapt to create more ease?
What can I give myself credit for, even if it wasn’t incentivized or recognized?
Conclusion: You Are More Than System Demands
Modern medicine will not pause its pace for us. But we can reclaim small spaces within the
chaos:
To triage need and prioritize intentionally
To remember that flexibility, not overwork, in the new marker of wisdom
To offer and receive help because true resilience is built in community, not isolation
The One-Action Challenge:
This week choose one place where the demands at work feel out of your control. Pause, name what’s yours (and what’s not), and practice letting go of all that is not yours-even if just for one hour. Notice any shift in your energy or sense of peace. Write it down and return to this reflection at the end of your day/shift.