Afternoon keynote: Reclaiming Balance, Joy, and Purpose in Your Career

Editor's Note

Burnout does not begin with exhaustion, but with misalignment, said burn and critical care surgeon Neha Amin, DO, FACS, NBC-HWC, founder of Balance and Breakthrough and Renewal Wound Care Centers based outside Atlanta, during her personal and pragmatic keynote. According to Dr Amin, burnout follows a clear trajectory—from hopeful “honeymoon” optimism to chronic stress and, ultimately, habitual burnout marked by “functional freeze, high rates of depression and anxiety, and poorer overall health.”

She explained that it begins subtly: “We start saying, ‘I need a drink tonight,’ after a rough day, and that happens more and more often.” Eventually, unhealthy coping mechanisms take root, self-doubt creeps in, and relationships and job performance deteriorate. She emphasized that burnout is not merely personal weakness but a by-product of systemic dysfunction. “We can’t just will ourselves out of burnout,” she said. “There are true systemic issues at play.”

Among the leading drivers, Dr Amin cited administrative burdens, documentation overload, productivity pressures, electronic health record frustrations, and chronic disconnect between frontline staff and administrators. “Nurses and leaders are caught in the middle,” she said. “They’re translating two different languages every day.” At the same time, individual tendencies worsen the problem. Perfectionism, hero culture, poor work-life balance, decision fatigue, and “non-restorative vacations” all erode resilience. “We were raised to equate worth with productivity,” she said. “That mindset served us in school, but it’s destroying us now.”

Her turning point came when she recognized the misalignment between her stated priorities and her actual life. “The day I submitted my resignation, my son’s nightmares stopped,” she shared. “Peace came back to my home.” She urged attendees to assess that same alignment through a “zooming out” and “zooming in” process: compare expectations to reality, identify the specific sources of strain, seek outside perspectives, then honestly evaluate whether one’s daily life reflects one’s core values. A key exercise, she said, is mapping an “ideal day” and comparing it to current reality. “If your life doesn’t match what you say matters most, there’s work to do,” she said.

From there, Dr Amin outlined tools to rebuild purpose and prevent relapse. Mindfulness and self-compassion are central: “Talk to yourself like you would to your best friend,” she advised. Rest, mindful movement, meditation, journaling, and healthy eating help restore clarity and decision-making. Eliminating escapist habits like doom-scrolling or impulse shopping “rewires the brain to seek real calm instead of temporary distraction.”

Dr Amin also called for systemic reform led by perioperative leaders themselves. “You are the frontline leaders and the systemic gatekeepers,” she said. Strategies include ensuring psychological safety, protected breaks, realistic staffing ratios, and rotation of high-acuity assignments. She urged replacing punitive responses to mistakes with education and debriefing, forming interdisciplinary wellness committees, and developing leadership accountability through emotional-intelligence and just-culture training.

Ultimately, reclaiming purpose requires courage and intention. “Build recognition programs based on teamwork and values, not just productivity,” she said. “We can’t wait for permission to lead differently. We are the culture.”