Taking the Time to Recharge

Dear Readers:

We are now in the full heart of summer. For most of us, July and August represent a slightly reduced schedule. There are fewer meetings—maybe even some time to catch up on administrative responsibilities—because many of our colleagues have taken some much-needed personal time off (ie, the new American term for vacation). Those of us who are in academia are welcoming new residents and fellows. Personally, many of us look forward to celebrating Independence Day with family and friends, as well as spending a week or 2 away from work, whether traveling to a new location or going to our favorite beach, lake, mountain, or other retreat to distance ourselves from the stress of work.

I would recommend that all the clinical caregivers who read this editorial take real time to recharge with family, friends, and loved ones. Every day we take care of patients that we truly wish to help, heal, and/or cure. The stress and strain of taking on others’ problems—let alone worrying about completing electronic medical records, coordinating home care, or ordering supplies—is immense, and I commend all of you for taking on this work.  

I have seen the stress of wound care for 24 years. The ironic portion of my world is that the high-stress, high-risk portion of my world of vascular surgery is often finite. In other words, the carotid patient is at risk of complication for 2 to 24 hours, after that they are “good” forever. The femoral to tibial bypass requires significant concentration for 4 to 6 hours, but after discharge 4 to 7 days later, is seen 3 to 4 times a year and eventually just annually.

This is a very different world than the patient with pyoderma gangrenosum of the breast or calciphylaxis of both legs who may be coming into the wound surgery practice on a weekly or biweekly basis. These patients require multimodal therapy of their wounds, including time in the operating room; the application of cellular, acellular and matrix-like therapies; and weekly psychological and social support. The problems associated with patients who have wounds are relentless, more so for the patient than for the caregiver, but if you see 30 to 50 patients a day, their problems mount up upon you as well.

As clinicians, caregivers, and humans who have a taken an oath to help others, you deserve and require time to take care of yourselves. Please take time this summer to recognize yourselves for what you do, recharge your batteries, focus on your personal goals and mission, and come back recharged and ready to heal more of your patients. Remember, they want you to do this because they recognize they need you.

John C. Lantis II, MD, FACS
Editor-in-Chief, Wounds
woundseditor@hmpglobal.com