ABSTRACT
The paradox at the heart of managing burnout is the modern expectation that doctors will be cool, calm and collected. The spectrum of burnout is an inevitable facet in modern medical practitioners. The experiences of stress and burnout are an inherent risk to the role of being a doctor. And yet for many general practitioners (GPs), publically at least, burnout will remain something that happens to other people. As a profession, doctors have bought into the de-stigmatisation of mental illness to encourage their patients to seek the help that they need, yet the stigma of mental health problems for people within their own profession is often still felt keenly. The impact of burnout on the general practice workforce is undeniable and, in a National Health Service (NHS) that is built around primary care, the struggle to recruit and retain GPs threatens the very functioning and sustainability of the health care system as doctors know it.
