Many factors contribute to burned out rads, of course, but one of the biggest has to be a fundamental loss of control over the daily work schedule, which can make long-term practice unsustainable. What was once considered a lifestyle specialty can quickly become an unsustainable grind.
The Solution? During his presentation at ARRS 2026, Nicholas Galante, MD, advocated for abandoning traditional time management in favor of focus management.
Proof of Concept: “Deep Work” Parkinson’s Law states that work will always expand to fill the time we give to it. So, to combat the kind of creep, Dr. Galante uses deep work to reclaim control of his time:
- Breaking his daily clinical work into two, distinct 90-to-120-minute sessions, distractions are mitigated—allowing him to get into a flow state.
- Between these two deep work sessions, he’ll unplug to handle administrative tasks, get some exercise, and run family errands.
Bottom Line: Fighting rad burnout is less about managing time and much more about balancing times of high focus and releasing the expectation of work for work’s sake.
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