What Healthcare Can Teach Us About Burnout
The article discusses the issue of burnout in the healthcare industry, particularly among physicians, and highlights the significant economic and human costs associated with burnout. It mentions that healthcare professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing burnout at higher rates compared to non-healthcare workers. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference has identified burnout as one of its key themes, reflecting the industry's concern about this issue.
The causes of burnout in healthcare are explored, including the demands placed on doctors and nurses, time pressure, lack of resources, administrative burden, poor internal communication, lack of clarity over roles, and lack of freedom and autonomy. Jennifer Moss, author of "The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It," emphasizes the influence of high levels of compassion, empathy, and perfectionism in contributing to burnout among healthcare professionals. She explains that the healthcare profession tends to attract individuals who are inclined to suppress their own needs and attach a large degree of purpose and meaning to their work. "Data shows that the suicide rate for female physicians is about 140 points above the average, with this driven in large part by high levels of compassion and empathy alongside an inability to disassociate from work. When combined with perfectionist tendencies, this can make dealing with an environment in which it's not always possible to do your best for patients really difficult."
The article also mentions the negative impact of technology, such as electronic medical record-taking, on physician burnout. It suggests that healthcare organizations can take steps to address burnout, including creating a healthy and supportive working environment, encouraging mental health conversations, providing safe spaces for discussion, embedding preventative wellbeing initiatives, recognizing burnout symptoms early on, and offering access to counseling and therapy services.
Jennifer Moss's insights on the relationship between compassion, empathy, perfectionism, and burnout in healthcare highlight the need for a different approach to managing teams and resources in order to address burnout effectively. Her perspective contributes to the understanding of the complex factors contributing to burnout in the healthcare industry and the importance of prioritizing staff wellbeing in organizational strategies.