The Lamen
The post-pandemic era isn’t all that easy for healthcare professionals, with reports of burnout among workers growing increasingly serious.
Photo: Bing AI
Burnout is more than just weariness that prevents you from delivering what your work desires. The “burnout syndrome” produces some defining symptoms in people: exhaustion increased negativism, and reduced efficiency. According to a new report published by the CDC, the healthcare profession is one of the most vulnerable to employee burnout.
The news: Researchers compared survey data between 2018 and 2022 in the United States — including self-reported mental health symptoms.
Burnout in health care workers is described as a “ticking time bomb” that could “lead to poor health outcomes across the board, long waiting times for treatment, many preventable deaths, and potentially even health system collapse.”
Results from the CDC report are a representation of how the pandemic affected the health workforce — represented by worker mental health and efficiency before and after the pandemic’s peak.
Meanwhile: Healthcare workers continue to face challenges in addressing and seeking care for burnout, including stigma and structural barriers. Physicians and other staff can seem divorced from the mental toll, which can cause such disproportionate access to mental health care.
In response, the CDC has launched a first-of-a-kind federal campaign that aims to improve workplace policies and practices to reduce burnout, normalize seeking help, and strengthen professional well-being.
Some critical steps in ensuring the well-being of healthcare workers, as outlined by STAT, include:
The campaign doesn’t just leave things to self-care and instead calls for organizational changes that establish new workflows and nurture an environment safe for seeking help.