Eric Spitznagel

I’m working on a feature about how healthcare professionals cope with routine rudeness and disrespect from patients, including angry comments, blame, and hostile portal messages. This story does not focus on violence or threats, but on the cumulative toll of everyday incivility that can leave clinicians feeling worn down. I’m looking to hear from physicians, nurses, PAs, or other healthcare workers willing to share personal experiences and coping strategies. I’m also interested in hearing from psychologists or workplace experts who can speak to the emotional impact of repeated disrespect, the “online disinhibition” effect in digital communication, and what institutions can do to better support clinicians. Interviews can be brief and scheduled at your convenience.

Clinicians across specialties and career stages face the same relentless reality: there is never enough time. I'm working on a feature that explores how doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are learning to make peace with that constraint rather than chasing yet another round of “productivity hacks.” The story takes a clear-eyed look at daily practice in an overburdened, bureaucratic system and asks a different question: if the time pressure isn’t going away, how do you work, think, and live well anyway? I’m looking to interview physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who have developed realistic, humane ways to cope with chronic time scarcity without lowering standards of care. I’m especially interested in insights around mindset, boundaries, decision-making, and “temporal autonomy,” in other words, how feeling more in control of your time can reduce stress even when the clock is unforgiving. This will be a reported, narrative feature, not a list of tips, and not a “go faster” story, but a thoughtful, sympathetic piece aimed at helping clinicians feel more at peace with the reality of their work as it exists today.