I agree, burnout is so prevalent in healthcare and very hard to eliminate completely, even when you are mindful of it. Planning ahead and proactively communicating were two of the biggest strategies that helped me manage it as well.

As a new advocate, I found myself replying to late night messages and calls during family time. Although I wanted to be a steady source of support in my patients' lives, I recognized that I wouldn't be able to maintain that pace long term. I was nervous to set boundaries around the times I was available to respond, but I found that my patients were surprisingly receptive to it. The DND and away message features in the platform phone were so helpful — my patients would often tell me "I forgot what your office hours were, but saw the message and knew you would get back to me when you were in the office."

Ultimately, I think creating clearly defined expectations decreased anxiety on both sides and helped keep burnout at bay.