Podcast 587:  Puppies Preventing Burnout?

<p><strong>Contributor: Jared Scott, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Burnout happens. This study reminds us to take a few minutes on shift to take care of yourself.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new study looked at burnout in ER nurses, residents, and attending physicians where they were asked to take a 5-minute break on shift to color or play with a therapy dog.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers measured stress levels and checked salivary cortisol levels after the breaks to see if the therapies were working against a control group who did not have the breaks.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Those who colored reported increased stress levels at the end of their shifts, while those who played with dogs reported decreased stress. Cortisol levels dropped in both coloring and pet therapy groups. Interestingly, patients couldn’t see any difference in their providers' stress level.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Those who conducted the study believe maybe coloring increased stress only because those who colored were denied the chance to play with a dog. Go figure.</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">1)</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">Kline JA, VanRyzin K, Davis JC, et al.</span> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32266765/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Randomized Trial of Therapy Dogs Versus Deliberative Coloring (Art Therapy) to Reduce Stress in Emergency Medicine Providers .</span></a> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Acad Emerg Med</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">. 2020; doi:10.1111/acem.13939</span></p> <div id="highlighter--hover-tools" style="display: none;"> <div id="highlighter--hover-tools--container"> <div class="highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy" title="Copy">  </div> <div class="highlighter--separator"> </div> <div class="highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-dele