For spine surgeons navigating heavy clinical demand, burnout prevention is increasingly tied to how practices use technology and structure their teams.
From leveraging AI tools to setting realistic goals, here is how two surgeons ensure burnout doesn’t affect their wellbeing or patient care.
Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. Becker’s invites all spine surgeon and specialist responses.
Next question: Looking ahead five years, what will distinguish a thriving spine practice from one that struggles to survive?
Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CDT Tuesday, March 17.
Editor’s note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity.
Question: How do you balance productivity expectations with avoiding burnout for yourself and staff?
Sohaib Hashmi, MD. UCI Health (Orange, Calif.): Avoiding burnout in spine surgery requires intentional habits, realistic expectations, and a supportive professional environment. The demands of spine surgery make it essential to adopt sustainable practices. I have found the following principles helpful in managing the stress of early career.
Embrace Realistic Goals: Especially early in one’s career, there are significant pressures to be simultaneously productive clinically, financially, academically, and present at home. I have found it important to acknowledge that it is not always possible to maximize every domain at the same time. Understanding the limitations of one’s personal capacity, institutional resources, and support structure is critical. It is extremely important to set treatment goals and expectations for patients with full transparency. By setting realistic goals and focusing on incremental progress, I try to maintain a sustainable trajectory rather than pursuing short-term benchmarks that may not be maintainable.
Maintain Consistency: I have learned that consistency is more valuable than intense but unsustainable bursts of activity. Rather than periods of extreme workload followed by exhaustion, I try to maintain steady progress in my clinical work, research efforts, and educational responsibilities. This approach allows for continuous professional and personal growth while avoiding cycles of overcommitment.
Prioritize Self-Care: Maintaining personal health is essential for sustaining the physical and mental demands of surgery. I make a deliberate effort to protect time for sleep, maintain consistent sleep hygiene, follow a structured nutritional plan, and keep a regular exercise routine. Distractions and work demands can easily encroach on this time, but maintaining discipline around these habits helps preserve the energy and focus required to care for patients effectively.
Develop Patience and Gratitude: Spine surgery inevitably involves both expected and unforeseen challenges, including complications and complex patient courses. I try to approach these situations with patience and gratitude by focusing on the broader purpose of our work. Being thankful for my surgical team, operating room staff, colleagues, and partners helps cultivate a supportive ecosystem for patient care. I also try to foster relationships within the team through small opportunities to connect outside the operating room — whether through brief breaks, informal conversations, or occasional gatherings with residents, fellows, and staff. These moments build trust and understanding within the team and ultimately strengthen the collaborative environment necessary for high-level patient care.
By intentionally practicing these principles — realistic expectations, consistency, self-care, and gratitude — I aim to create a sustainable and fulfilling career in spine surgery while maintaining the perspective needed to navigate the inevitable challenges of the profession.
Vijay Yanamadala, MD. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare: Technology and appropriate team structure are essential for protecting what matters most: our ability to deliver excellent patient care. AI documentation tools have been game-changing. I’m not spending evenings finishing notes, which means I come to work refreshed and fully present for patients.
For staff, we’ve empowered APPs to handle more clinical assessment and education, which they’re excellent at and which lets everyone work at the top of their capabilities. I also protect time aggressively because quality patient care requires space for thoughtful decision-making. Burnout also harms patients when we’re too exhausted to deliver our best work.
For the team, we create space to debrief complex cases and acknowledge difficult outcomes without blame. People enter healthcare because they want to help others; burnout happens when systems make that feel impossible. The antidote is autonomy, mastery and purpose. Invest in people’s growth, celebrate when we help patients avoid unnecessary surgery as much as excellent operations, and ensure everyone feels their work makes a meaningful difference.
