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Hartford Medical Society Hosts Event Addressing Physician Burnout Featuring Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. May 4, 2022— The Hartford Medical Society

(HMS) recently hosted a signature event, “Doctors Are Human Too,” at The Bushnell in Hartford, Conn., featuring the renowned physician, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. Among other topics, Dr. Emanuel discussed the lasting impact of the pandemic on physicians, the key to happiness and life satisfaction, and ways physicians can adjust their behaviors to make room for a more fulfilling future in the field of medicine.

Local medical professionals, office staff, students, and peers gathered at The Bushnell to reconnect and hear Dr. Emanuel’s thoughts on one of medicine’s most pressing and underacknowledged concerns: physician burnout. Dr. Emanuel provided an insightful look at the growth of burnout and its root causes while informing attendees that burnout is surprisingly not attributed to the number of hours worked or the influx of tasks. Instead, burnout often occurs when there is a lack of purpose and support within the medical community.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is a renowned oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics with an M.Sc. from Oxford University in Biochemistry, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University. He was instrumental in drafting the Affordable Care Act and has authored or edited 15 books and more than 350 other publications.

“This is why we’re here, this is the point of the Hartford Medical Society,” said Dr. Bernard Kosto, HMS president. “HMS brings together doctors, nurses, and other interested parties to find ways to support one another today while creating a better tomorrow. It all starts with community.”

The event also showcased an HMS tradition held since 1995: honoring the student recipient of their annual scholarship program with UConn Medical School. This year’s recipient, Sara Schulwolf, shared the findings of her summer research, “Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia for the Management of Acute Pain Complaints in the Emergency Setting: Creation of a National Database and Implications for Future Practice.”

“It was thrilling to see our community get together after so much time apart,” said Tessa O’Sullivan, executive director of HMS. “We had attendees of all ages and professions showing how universal and important these messages are.”

HMS is a nonprofit society comprised of students, practicing physicians, retired doctors, administrators, and healthcare providers. With a mission of celebrating the history of medicine in Connecticut while promoting the latest tools and techniques, HMS strives to build a better future for both medicine and healthcare. Learn more about HMS and its mission at HartfordMedicalSociety.org.