Why do physicians and nurse practitioners dread to attend meetings?

Physicians and Nurse Practitioners are often known to be isolated creatures who do not wish to attend meetings. I plan to share some thoughts from their perspectives in this brief article.

We've all been there. Balancing our clinical duties with meeting attendance is a constant struggle. We often multitask or even forget about meetings, a challenge that physicians and nurse practitioners face regularly.

Direct patient interaction demands a significant amount of mental and physical energy. Physicians and nurse practitioners, in addition to their primary patient care role, also take on multiple responsibilities, such as assisting families with insurance queries, scheduling follow-up visits, and home care plans. These are unavoidable situations that arise regularly. Sometimes, they might be having a challenging day with a patient or preoccupied with a patient's distressing illness. Their dedication to their patients is unwavering, even in the face of personal challenges.

?Some physicians and nurse practitioners might have a few hours per week as admin time, but that doesn’t always go as admin time. It turns into your “me-time” in catching up on your charts, orders, and phone messages piled up. Meetings, if scheduled at those times, are workable but not looked forward to. They also struggle to balance their home life with their stressful work, which demands much attention. Sometimes, they have to give up meetings to get some sleep before returning to work.

However, this doesn’t mean they wish to miss or think these meetings are unnecessary. Networking with peers, knowing what is happening, and updating themselves with new policies are all part of their team culture. A clinical person takes meetings, in fact, more seriously because if they are walking out of the operating room or exam room to make time for the meeting, they are going to make it worthwhile—a meeting of something significant. They will have their draft ready to go. They will look forward to what will come as an outcome or result of their meeting. They do not care much about chatting about the weather or their pets. They are likely drained and want to discuss the bullet points straightforwardly.

A few things that might work as a repulsive factor to attending the meeting could be:

·???????? If the discussions extend well beyond the planned duration.

·???????? If only problems were discussed and solutions were not created.

·???????? If their problems are not noted or heard.

·???????? Suppose they do not feel valued or seen in that meeting.

A physician or nurse practitioner with the above experience would not wish to attend those meetings again. Instead, they would exclude themselves from distractions and work on their craft.

So, the next time we label a physician or a nurse practitioner isolated, let's strive to understand their perspective. By doing so, we can help them overcome this isolation. Organizations must support them in managing their schedules to ensure they can attend meetings. They should also make them feel valued and integral to the larger picture.