Medical caregiving brings with it a high risk of burnout. More than half of U.S. physicians experience substantial symptoms of burnout, according to a 2017 paper. The Western Carolina Medical Society has made physician burnout a priority in its strategic plan and is taking steps to prevent and treat it.
The sometimes challenging road to health care in rural Western North Carolina extends beyond the curves of country back roads. Whether it’s dealing with the current physician shortage that affects all but Madison in the 16-county region or wrestling with social and economic barriers, local providers and patients share their challenges and plans to address rural health-care needs. (Cover by Emily Busey. Photo by Max Cooper.)
When Dr. Robert Fields and Dr. Andy Runkle opened Vista Family Health in 2003, Mission Medical Associates wasn’t even a blip on the radar. For Fields, Vista represented the culmination of a long-held dream. Growing up in a Puerto Rican family in the U.S., Fields longed to open a practice that could serve both Latinos […]
