Why doctors find it so hard to say no

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By Dr Ollie Burton

Struggling to decline extra work isn't a personal failing – it's baked into medical culture. But it isn't a sustainable career strategy, says Dr Ollie Burton.

You are already exhausted, but you say yes to covering an extra shift. You have absolutely no spare capacity but then wind up agreeing to take on a new project anyway. You don’t feel able to say, “Sorry, I can’t,” so find yourself staying late yet again.

The fact that struggling to say no is a near-universal experience in medicine suggests this is not just some personal failing

Sound familiar? These are scenarios that most every doctor will recognise, I certainly do. I have been a habitual over-acceptor – and have burned myself and others on a number of occasions as a result.

But the fact that struggling to say no is a near-universal experience in medicine suggests this is not just some personal failing.