Book excerpt: When physicians and nurses suffer from burnout, patients suffer as well. This book pinpoints the how and why and shows what healthcare providers and their organizations can do. Burnout is among the most critical topics in healthcare as it deprives us of our most important resource—the talents and passion of those who perform the difficult work of caring for patients and their families. The purpose of this book is to provide not only a taxonomy of burnout within the landscape of healthcare but also to provide pathways for healthcare professionals to guide themselves and their organizations toward changing the culture and systems of their organization. The work of battling burnout begins from within. Thom Mayer views every healthcare team member as both a leader and performance athlete, engaged in a cycle of performance, training, and recovery. In these roles, they must both lead and protect themselves and their teams. Battling Healthcare Burnout looks at individuals' role in promoting change within themselves and their organization and addresses solutions to change the culture and systems of work. Both are presented with a pragmatic focusand a liberal use of examples and case studies, including those from several nationally recognized healthcare systems.