INSPIRE YOUR ORGANIZATION

WHY focus on BURNOUT within the System?

Burnout is bad for Healthcare Workers, Administrators, Patients and the Financial Health of the Organization.

Experts predict collapse of the healthcare workforce by 2034 if Burnout Management Strategies and Physician Wellness Programs are not widely adopted.

AAMC June 2021. "The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034." https://www.aamc.org/media/54681/download

"The Great Resignation" accelerated that!  

"Healthcare Workforce Set to Face High Resignation Rates Within 2 Years." January 25, 2022.  https://revcycleintelligence.com/news/healthcare-workforce-set-to-face-high-resignation-rates-within-2-years

Nursing Staffing Issues

CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME FROM BURNOUT?

YES !  Burnout is our Great Awakening and "The Great Resignation" may allow you and your team to create some leverage via "The Great Alignment."

• Short staffing is everywhere since the COVID Pandemic, requiring the remaining staff to carry the extra weight.  This is a perfect time to test your organization's budgetary limits, given the growing anxiety about the number of professionals who are resigning. Getting your staffing ratios right will increase patient safety, improve both patient AND physician/employee satisfaction and improve retention!
• Learn how to protect work-life balance boundaries, and create an Ideal Job Description, so you don’t continue to suffer. This will decrease your stress and help you regain some control over your own practice. Turn the job you have into the job you want ==> JOY!  
• Learn how to confidently ask for what you need.  You could actually negotiate a better contract without going through the disruptive process of finding a new job.
• The Return On Investment on a dedicated Physician Wellness Program is well worth it.  
• We have been building a bridge across the WE-THEY CHASM - let's finish strong! 

Few organizations recognize the need for a comprehensive Physician Wellness Program, separate from the Employee Advocacy Program (EAP).   Some leaders believe burnout is simply an individual problem. Thus, the healthcare worker is referred to a counselor, mindfulness training or yoga. Though individual management strategies can be very helpful, they don't necessarily get to all the underlying root causes of Burnout - namely the system issues.

There are many system issues that can lead to burnout and moral injury.  The EHR, administrative inefficiencies, regulatory requirements, time constraints, and pajama work time are just the tip of the iceberg. These daily complexities, and political divisiveness can drive people to the precipice of the "We-They" Chasm.  Many professionals are leaving the field prematurely!  

System Issues are ubiquitous, and a collaborative team effort is required to develop System Strategies that not only improve upon the workplace environment, but complement Individual Strategies.  Healthcare workers need this balanced approach; otherwise, many will continue to cut back hours, or leave medicine altogether. 

A comprehensive Physician Wellness Program is necessary for Success. 

Another contributing factor is that most organizations still focus on the Triple Aim - the 3 white slices in the pie below.  The Quadruple Aim (addition of Physician Wellness - the blue slice of the pie) was introduced in 2016, but has not been widely adopted.  Failing to include physician voices and wellness into your organizational objectives will further contribute to burnout and the dangerous healthcare workforce shortage.

Why Physicians Do Not Seek Help For Burnout:

Many physicians do not feel adequately supported; individual Mental Health services are NOT what we need most.  

Most professionals don’t have inherent mental illness; though these symptoms can develop secondary to a stressful work environment!  Mental health services may not be what is needed to solve their greatest dilemmas!  Physicians want to FIND, FOCUSING ON and FIX the SYSTEM ISSUES that are causing the stress. 

Physicians also want to have an active and profound voice in the decisions that impact us, not top-down, inefficient bureaucratic processes!  Most are relieved to LEARN that administration cares, are willing to listen and is do what it takes to improve upon our concerns. 

Secondly, mental health care can be stigmatizing and even penalizing for physicians.  We are hesitant to admit we are struggling, not only because we were trained with a bulletproof mentality, but because we shouldn't have to take the blame for this chaos!  We don't want to have to answer mental health questions on credentialing, insurance and licensure renewal applications; they are job-related consequences. Many just try to tough it out, and often suffer in silence.  BUT if left untreated, these negative, secondary health effects can lead to: anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, divorce and even suicide.  Some have taken their own lives and those left behind are in absolute shock over the sudden, unexpected loss.  

Physicians have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession - twice the rates of the general population. 

Of those contemplating suicide, 1% complete it - that’s approximately one physician suicide/day.

'Death by 1000 Cuts': Medscape National Physician Burnout & Suicide Report 2021.

Medscape Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety, and Anger

____ (# of providers in my organization)   X 0.13 =  ____ (# of suicidal providers)!

Is my organization prepared for this type of emergency? 

 KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Our lives are far more precious than the letters behind our names or the positions we hold.  We must shift the paradigm from "going it alone" to recognizing, speaking up and seeking help; ... it's OK to not be OK! 

Be sure all staff and their spouses have access to crisis resources - 24/7/365. 

Don’t make a permanent, tragic decision for a temporary dilemma. Take the steps to get help today, tell your valuable story!