Dr. T. Lūža Moved Vilnius to Telšiai: On Burnout Syndrome, Values ​​Review and Modern Mothers | Lifetime

For several weeks, T. Lūža, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Telšiai Regional Hospital, has said that he has long been dissatisfied with the kind of life that has recently developed.

“Although I have always planned to live and work in Vilnius until now, lately I have been feeling dissatisfied with the current situation: heavy workloads, possibly without the evaluation of the hospital administration, not satisfied with the psychological background. Also, during the quarantine, when I had to spend more time with my family, I clearly realized that life is not just about work. I started thinking about what to do so as not to “eat” work all the time and save it for the family. That is, how to work less so that living conditions and quality of life do not suffer, but rather so that it is not done at the expense of the family ”, said the interlocutor.

It is not in vain to say: dream carefully, because thoughts materialize. In response to all these considerations, an offer came in to work at the Telšiai Regional Hospital.

The doctor is not hiding: the offer was very unexpected and did not correspond to his initial vision of staying in Vilnius. However, he was not rejected immediately, but began to consider all the pros and cons, talking to the family. “When all the pros and cons were put together, I decided there was a need for innovation in life,” said T. Lūža.

– How did the family react to such an offer? Did they easily agree to leave Vilnius?

– In fact, we now live in Klaipeda. It is a commitment to the family. After all, the family offered to move to Klaipeda first and then decide where to stay. So I’m going to Telšiai from Klaipėda. So far this is very suitable for me – I spend my travel time on various podcastų, listen to lectures or learn languages. This is my hobby: besides Russian and English, I study Spanish, Italian and I want to learn Japanese. I have Japanese friends, I’m interested in that distant country and its language seems very exotic to me. I have the dream of learning Arabic, Chinese, but I still lack time.

It is not in vain to say: dream carefully, because thoughts materialize.

– What are your first impressions after starting to work at Telšiai Hospital?

– It is still difficult to summarize the experience, but the department itself is working very well. But I already had my first emotional shocks. In two weeks, I even had to meet a couple of mothers who gave birth for the fifth or sixth time, but did not raise any children and immediately said they weren’t planning to take care of this either. I think these cases occur all over Lithuania, but the flow of mothers in Vilnius is higher, so they are not so noticeable.

I have also noticed that younger women give birth in the region. In Vilnius, when I asked her in her thirties how many times she had given birth to collect a history during consultation, she almost resented: “I’m still studying, I’m looking for a career, what other births.” And in Telšiai, I ask carefully, for fear of being insulted, and they answer me two or three times.

– As you say, the decision to go to Telšiai was determined by the fact that you were tired of being divided between various jobs. But is this the routine of many doctors?

– People may think that a few doctors work for pleasure, but it is not. First, a doctor studies for a long time, up to 30 years or more, when other colleagues have already made a career. And the salaries in medicine, especially in the big cities, are not high, because there are more people who want to work here.

Therefore, to create a normal living environment, both a loan to take out a house and a car to buy, you need to do various jobs. For a while, everything seems normal: although you only go back to sleep and do not see your family, the work is successful, the number of patients grows and the invitations to work in institutions also. However, getting into this routine sooner or later catches the burnout syndrome.

Of course, it is useful for a young doctor to work in a large metropolitan hospital: if he comes to a good department with a large flow of patients, it allows him to operate, study, it helps to gain a lot of experience. But there comes a time when you stand up and start to make your life a little different. Then it is possible to think about improving the quality of life and, at the same time, helping patients in the regions.

– Does the province really offer higher wages than big cities?

– Naturally, the supply of specialists is much greater and is used in large cities. There are ten people who want to be in his place, whether they work for the salary offered or someone else will work for him. And the districts are forced to look for ways to attract specialists, give them tempting offers.

– How do you assess the trend of hospitals to disappear or close in the regions?

– It is difficult to answer unequivocally. I view forced hospital closures in a negative light. For example, if a sufficient number of surgeries are performed in an institution, the specialists improve, they go to conferences, new specialists are constantly attracted, and it may be even safer to treat them than in large clinics.

However, there is no point in maintaining a department that attracts neither professionals nor patients. On the other hand, regional institutions sometimes face legal restrictions that prohibit them from carrying out certain operations or procedures that could be carried out.

A vicious cycle is emerging: Doctors are not allowed to provide certain services, so they eventually lose their qualifications and no longer want to provide them. And young professionals are worried about the closing of district hospitals and they don’t know when their jobs can be lost, they are afraid to go to the regions. I think there should still be strong hospitals in the regions.

There are ten people who want to be in his place, whether they work for the salary offered or someone else will work for him.

– Let’s move on to what you face every day at work. What is a modern mother?

– Recently, women have wanted more and more naturalness, both during pregnancy and during childbirth. However, they are born at an older age, so they have more physiological and health problems and sometimes they have very little naturalness left. Of course, a woman always feels young; It should feel like this, but it won’t change your physiology. With age, especially after the age of 35, the incidence of abortions also increases, detecting other more diverse pregnancy pathologies, such as diabetes, hypertension, etc.

Or there are cases in which a couple requests assisted reproduction when a woman is over 40 years old. Her ovarian reserve is usually depleted at this age, so there is often nothing to help her. There is a myth in society that AIDS can get pregnant at any age. But healthy, viable female eggs are needed. The older a woman is, the less likely her egg will be fertilized. It is true that there are donations of eggs and embryos, but then the child will have the genes of another woman.

A similar situation with childbirth. With age, childbirth is more complicated, requires more interventions, more consultations, examinations, more often requires a cesarean section, medical assistance during childbirth.

On the other hand, Swedish research shows that the children of older mothers grow up smarter, finish better schools, get a better education because women who have already reached a career can pay more for themselves and their children. So there are advantages.

– Returning to naturalness, what is the most important thing for women at this time?

– Breastfeeding is back in fashion. Women are already aware of how important it is for the baby, and institutions seek hospital status in favor of the newborn, encouraging and training women in breastfeeding.

During childbirth, women increasingly try to avoid any medications, give up pain relievers, use various natural methods such as breathing exercises, choose different postures for childbirth, massages, essential oils, meditation, music, etc.

In this case, it is especially favorable to give birth in regional hospitals, where normal physiological deliveries usually take place without major complications, so the doctors themselves encourage the process to develop in the most natural way possible so that the hospital resembles home and both the wife and her husband feel comfortable.

We also always encourage men to participate in childbirth. I have found that childbirth also proceeds much more easily and a woman feels safer if a man is involved. I believe that the trend will soon reach us from abroad that a man will also be able to participate in a cesarean section.

– What is the best age for a woman to give birth?

– Given modern life, that age would be up to 30 years. Clearly, every woman and situation is individual. There are situations in which women between the ages of 35 and 40 also give birth successfully, and there are cases in which a woman in her 30s is diagnosed with ovarian failure and premature menopause. Actually, we are not saying that we should give birth between the ages of 18 and 20, because a mother must be psychologically mature and have the conditions to raise a child. That is why the trend is for older women to give birth, but the younger the woman, the lower the risk.

In my practice, the oldest pregnant woman was 55 years old. The pregnancy was very complicated, it got worse and caused various diseases, the delivery was complicated, but she gave birth to a healthy and pregnant baby.

I invite all Samogitian and Lithuanian women to come to Telšiai for treatment and give birth. If you have any questions, I always invite you to consult me ​​or write to me on the social networks of Instagram or Facebook.