Burnout in Diabetes Care: Three Ways I Recharge
May 12, 2025, 15:05 PM
By Mara Fiorio, MS, RD, BC-ADM, CDCES
At some point or another, almost every health care professional has felt burnout in some way. I know I have. Diabetes care is incredibly rewarding, but let’s be honest—it’s also emotionally and mentally demanding. We’re doing our best to show up for others while managing endless documentation, diabetes tech updates, and care plans that seem to shift by the day. It’s a lot.
And the research backs this up. According to the National Library of Medicine, national studies have shown that up to 50% of health care professionals report feeling burned out.1 The Surgeon General’s advisory has called this a crisis, highlighting how the system itself is putting our well-being at risk.2
So how do I keep going and take care of both my patients and myself? Here are three things that work for me:
It took me a while to realize this, but asking for help doesn’t make you less capable—it makes you more sustainable. I’ve learned to rely on coworkers when I need to delegate, vent, or just troubleshoot a tough case. Building a team culture where we support each other makes the hard days feel just a little bit easier.
When the day ends, I do my best to mentally clock out too. Having activities planned outside of work—like running clubs, family time, or even just a walk—gives me something to look forward to that has nothing to do with diabetes. Physical activity isn’t just helpful anecdotally, it’s been shown to reduce emotional exhaustion and improve overall well-being for health care professionals.3 It’s not about running marathons (though I do love a race!); even short, consistent movement helps me reset.
I’ve learned to pay attention to my energy—when I start feeling drained, I try to step back before I hit a wall. Sometimes that means taking a full weekend to unplug, and other times it’s just stepping away for ten minutes to clear my head. Even a short break can make a big difference and helps me come back feeling more like myself.
Burnout while working in diabetes care doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong—it just means you’re human. We may not be able to fix the whole system overnight, but taking care of ourselves, setting boundaries, and leaning on each other is a good place to start.
West CP, Dyrbye LN, Shanafelt TD. Physician burnout: contributors, consequences and solutions. In: Healthcare. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Published January 2018. Accessed April 1, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538330/
Bretland RJ, Thorsteinsson EB. Reducing workplace burnout: the relative benefits of cardiovascular and resistance exercise. PeerJ. 2015 Apr 9;3:e891. doi: 10.7717/peerj.891. PMID: 25870778; PMCID: PMC4393815.