There I was in the Emergency Department of the hospital where I had just spent 12 hours caring for patients upstairs on the medical wards. Dizzy, tired, and hungry, I watched as the Emergency Department nurse connected me to the telemetry monitor and watched as my heart rate fluctuated between 110-125 beats per minute.

I’d spent the majority of the day fatigued and feeling as if I was going to pass out but I endured; for the sake of the patients I had to see. Despite not feeling myself I saw all the patients on my list, going through their management at bedside, collaborating with specialists, and speaking with family members.

Through all of this there was a continual nagging feeling that something with me was not right. I had never felt so ill at work and the constant dizziness was worrying. So instead of going home after my shift I headed downstairs to the ED. The ED doctor was surprised to see my name on the tracker board – he knew me as one of the hospitalists he frequently admitted patients to. I told him my symptoms and he placed in several orders; all tests, blood work and imaging were negative for any acute process. When my doctor came into my room with my discharge papers he looked me in the eye and said “I think you’re burned out”.