Updated on February 1, 2024 by Jordan McGlone
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Talks about burnout among healthcare workers are nothing new. The problem is that the issue is still prevalent and little progress has been made to alleviate its effects.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare personnel have been overwhelmed and overworked. Many were asked to work longer hours and deal with more critical care than they were accustomed to. It was a rapid and significant change. The pivot, for many, has been drug out into a long series of pirouettes.
A recent report by the CDC highlighted that burnout from mental health stress is at an all-time high compared to before the pandemic hit. This issue is ever-significant and must be well-analyzed by every health institution.
This article discusses the signs, impact, and best strategies for preventing burnout in healthcare.
Key Takeaways
2. The best strategies for healthcare burnout prevention include identifying key stressors, providing adequate mental and physical support to professionals, and allowing workers to improve their work-life balance.
3.PatientCalls offers third-party answering services for healthcare professionals and helps perform preliminary screening and interviewing for workers.
How Prevalent is Stress in Healthcare Workers?
Stress and burnout have always been prevalent in the healthcare industry. Even way before the pandemic, healthcare workers were reported to be on high levels of stress and it received national attention in 2019.
The onset of the pandemic only worsened the stress on healthcare workers. In a study published in 2021, healthcare professionals were determined to have 25.8% higher stress levels than the general population.
These stress levels are reflections of the pressure and workload of healthcare workers. This event’s implications affect not only the health of these professionals but also the quality of patient care.
Stress can lead to lower productivity among workers and higher turnover. According to the 2023 NSI National Healthcare Retention and RN Staffing Report, turnover among hospital workers is at 22.7%, which is a significant amount.
What Is the Leading Cause of Burnout in Healthcare?
Among the many causes of burnout in healthcare workers, the most prevalent is overwork or too much workload. This cause is mainly brought out by the lack of workforce in healthcare compared to the amount of work that needs to be done.
Some of the other causes of burnout may include any of the following:
- Personal and work conflict
- Unrealistic expectations of patients
- Pressure on continuous learning
- Long working hours
- Excessive bureaucracy
- Organizational issues
- Poor communication
- Toxic working culture
These causes are often a result of combined cultural, structural, and societal factors. Recognizing the impact and sources of burnout in healthcare is the first step to building a healthy work environment and alleviating negative effects.
By identifying these factors, we can develop insights into potential solutions and strategies to mitigate burnout, fostering a healthier and more sustainable work environment for those dedicated to providing quality care.
What Are Warning Signs of Burnout on Healthcare Workers?
Burnout can manifest in different ways. Sometimes, workers are unfamiliar with the signs that burnout gets out of hand before they can do anything about it.
Self-awareness is critical when determining burnout levels. This can help you determine the level of care and rest needed and can aid the organization in developing strategies.
Burnout manifests in any one or combined signs, such as the following:
- Impaired concentration
- Emotional exhaustion
- Fatigue
- Lack of energy
- Irritability
- Lack of motivation and enthusiasm to work
- Significantly reduced performance
- Inappropriate behavior
- Cynicism and detachment
- Physical symptoms (e.g., headache, back pain, gastrointestinal issues, and others)
- Inability to sleep soundly
- Neglecting self-care
Different people can manifest different signs. Some signs may be easier to detect in a group of people, whereas some may be harder.
Regular evaluation of team members can help organizations determine burnout levels in healthcare workers. Managers and department heads are critical in determining and mitigating burnout levels and risks.
Why Workplace Stress Is at an All-Time High
At the start of the pandemic, doctors and nurses who rushed to the frontlines felt charged by the adrenaline of the situation and the great need for their services. But as the situation has worn on, the long hours of work, demanding shifts, stressful conditions, and the toll it all takes on their bodies, minds, and relationships have become hard to handle in the long term.
Even before the pandemic hit, the vast majority of emergency medical staff already met the criteria for burnout and a small percentage had considered suicide at some point. Covid-19 has only magnified the problem, increasing the amount of healthcare workers experiencing anxiety, depression, and stress. Healthcare workers have reported feeling exhausted, frustrated, and traumatized by what they have lived and worked through.
Part of what makes this situation particularly tough is that healthcare workers have chosen their profession because they want to help people. They feel guilty walking away from their job, especially when so many people need their help. There is great pressure on them, even self-inflicted stress, to perform well on the job every day.
What Is the Impact of Burnout on Patient Care?
As mentioned, the impacts of burnout can significantly affect the quality of work healthcare professionals provide. These effects can also alter team dynamics, resulting in lower workflow efficiency.
In particular, some of the impacts of burnout can include:
- Reduced quality of patient care. Exhaustion and fatigue among healthcare workers can impair their judgment and performance level. This can lead to lower attention, precision, and thoroughness in work. Critical information about a patient can go unnoticed due to the lower presence of mind among healthcare professionals.
- Increased medical errors. Healthcare professionals experiencing burnout are likelier to give incomplete or erroneous diagnoses or medical prescriptions. This event can be potentially harmful to patients.
- Decreased patient satisfaction. Burnt-out employees are less likely to feel empathic towards patients. These workers are less effective when it comes to communicating with patients and co-workers. This can manifest as a lack of interest in the task, which can be offensive to patients requiring primary care.
- Longer wait times. Overworked workers become less efficient in their tasks. This event can drag the time spent on one task and prolong patient waiting. Tasks requiring precision and time sensitivity can lose effectiveness in this case.
- Staffing shortages. Consistently burnt-out employees are more likely to resign. As a result, there can be fewer professionals to attend to patients. The result of this impact can further strain the healthcare system and provide subpar services.
Recognizing the impact of health worker burnout on patient care underscores the importance of implementing strategies to prevent and address burnout within the healthcare industry. Healthcare management teams must be adaptive and perceptive when it comes to understanding the woes of their workers.
Best Healthcare Burnout Prevention Strategies
Healthcare organizations are only as good as their staff. And the statistics are telling us that the resilience of this workforce is eroding fast. Yet this workforce is extremely valuable–for their skills, experience, and dedication to patient care—even more so now, amid a widespread labor shortage.
So, what can employers do to retain and support their staff through this extremely stressful period? Here are some of the best strategies on how to prevent burnout in healthcare setups.
Mindful Recognition
The potential for burnout shouldn’t surprise anyone in healthcare and acknowledging the threat from the early stages of their careers can be a first step in prevention. This means raising awareness about the importance of self-care from the beginning and reducing the stigma around it.
Healthcare workers are more likely to burn out if they feel their energy is wasted, work is unimportant, or their efforts are under-appreciated. So, there is a positive side to mindful recognition. One strategy to rebuild resiliency is implementing ways to acknowledge and reward staff. Demonstrating that their efforts and their contributions are meaningful can help alleviate feelings of fatigue.
Time to Recharge
To prevent burnout on the macro level, healthcare advocates are pushing for universal paid sick days, especially for part-time practitioners or work on contract. It’s important, they say, to give personnel the time they need to care for themselves when their physical or mental health is less than optimal. This step is an integral part of stress management.
“If you give nurses, the adequate time they need to recover–whether it’s physically or mentally—they can come back ready to work and healthy,” explains Sara Fung, RN. “While if they just stick it out and work while they’re sick, they may just end up exacerbating whatever issue they have.”
On the micro level, supporting staff can be as simple as scheduling breaks during shifts. This not only allows them time to take a breather but also requires them to pause patient care regularly. Often busy professionals don’t take advantage of break time, so scheduling breaks out can help enforce time for self-care and encourage staff to separate themselves from work stress momentarily.
Work-Life Balance
Even in times of medical emergencies, it’s crucial that everyone feels that they have time to take care of themselves, their patients, and their families. Striking this perfect work and personal life balance must be a daily priority; it’s a goal that requires ongoing effort. Now, more than ever, healthcare workers must adjust to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Employers should make resources available to their staff to help support these types of goals. Counseling and workshops focusing on finding the right balance in their lives can be a good start and staff should be encouraged to take advantage of the resources provided.
Related article: It’s Not Just Doctors Who Are Burnt Out, Healthcare Admin Are Struggling Too.
Support Physical and Mental Health
Healthcare staff can’t provide quality patient care if they aren’t feeling well. That’s why it’s fundamental that they are encouraged to get enough sleep, eat well-balanced meals, and exercise regularly.
Let staffers know what nutritional, therapeutic, mental health resources, or counseling services their institution offers, and advocate taking advantage of them. It is also highly encouraged to conduct regular assessments among healthcare workers to determine the right treatment plan for them.
Another way to provide support to healthcare workers is to employ the use of medical outsourcing. Such solutions can help address the problems of labor shortage and improve efficiency.
Management can also show solidarity and support to workers by providing them with advanced solutions, such as cloud-based healthcare software. Advanced technology is devised to make tasks easier and reduce stress among workers.
Social Engagement
Peer programs, mentoring, and workplace outings can aid morale and mental wellness. Organizations should encourage employees to collaborate across departments and coordinate group initiatives to facilitate communication beyond their team.
One example is luncheons where employees from different departments can work together to develop solutions to everyday challenges. Within a department, supporting resilience can start with meetings to debrief following high-stress cases and offering opportunities for ongoing learning.
Reaching Out
Those who are used to caring for others find it particularly difficult to ask for help. They put incredible pressure on themselves to ‘do it all.’
To address this, management should create an environment where employees feel comfortable asking for help. It’s also important to let them know what services are available when or if they think they have a problem with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, or addiction.
PatientCalls Supports Your Staff
PatientCalls’ medical answering services are designed to streamline work and make healthcare offices of all sizes less stressful environments. PatientCalls agents triage incoming calls and handle overflow calls so that your staff can focus their efforts where it matters most.
Our services can help healthcare facilities reduce burnout and physical burden by taking care of critical work tasks, such as setting appointments and conducting patient interviews.
Request a quote to discuss how answering services can augment your in-house staff.
