Finding Purpose on the Other Side of Burnout

Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Anthony Avellino about his experience with physician burnout. For years, he battled with depression and obsessive-compulsive tendencies. At one point, he attempted suicide, but stopped when he had a vision of his young son. He took up endurance ultra running which helped him cope with his personal crisis. He healed by learning to have self-compassion and avoiding the perfectionist approach to life. He wrote a book called Finding Purpose: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey of Hope and Healing and today he is helping others deal with overwhelm and burnout. Anthony M. Avellino is a highly regarded pediatric neurosurgeon, experienced healthcare administrator, and endurance ultra-runner. He started his pediatric neurosurgery career at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and is presently the Medical Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Valley Children’s Healthcare. He was the Michigan State University assistant vice president for health sciences, chief clinical and medical officer, and interim director of athletic medicine from 2018-2021. He also served as chief executive officer for OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute from 2014 to 2018. In 2009, he was the first director of the UW Medicine Neurosciences Institute for the University of Washington Medicine and was also appointed chief of neurological surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center in 2011. For more information, visit: https://findingpurposeavellino.com.

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