WIO 2026: Zhang on addressing physician burnout in ophthalmology

Amy Zhang, MD, associate clinical professor in the glaucoma service at the Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan, spoke with Ophthalmology Times about where ophthalmology still falls short in addressing physician burnout, ahead of the Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) 2026 Summer Symposium.

Separating what you can control from what you can't

Asked where the field is still behind on addressing drivers of burnout, Zhang said the challenge starts with how varied the causes are from one physician to the next. She said it helps to distinguish between factors that can be controlled in the workplace and factors tied to home and family life, though she acknowledged the two often bleed into each other through work-life balance.

Zhang said she deliberately focuses her efforts on workplace factors she can actually influence. That's part of why she has prioritized ergonomics: addressing a pain-related issue, she said, is one concrete way to relieve some of that burden and reduce burnout.

Health system culture, not just individual habits

Zhang said culture at the institutional level plays a major role in physician well-being. She pointed to the University of Michigan's chief well-being officer as an example of a structural commitment: "we actually are fortunate enough to have a chief well-being officer, and that addresses well-being across all the domains, along with our nurses and our support staff." She added that open communication across a care team matters because, "if someone's not feeling well or not being at their best, it's really hard to promote positive culture."

Busting the self-care myth

Zhang identified a common misconception directly: "I think one myth is that if we just read more books, or if we just meditate on our own time, that we will all be better." While she said she isn't dismissing meditation as, "a great practice," she cautioned against treating it as a substitute for addressing systemic issues, including "the lack of efficiencies across our systems that sort of keep the physicians there longer and keep the patients waiting."