By Katherine Bolton-Wanrooy
The 2 Most Impactful Ways to Prevent Physician and Healthcare Professional Burnout
Burnout in the healthcare world is a real, ongoing and increasing concern for those experiencing it, as well as the impact it may have on patient care. There is no one easy fix across the board, but there are important areas that can be examined. There are more demands than ever in many areas for physicians and nurses in practices varying from a specialty such as Urology to Internal Medicine to the Emergency Department. Burnout leads to feeling emotionally drained at work, unfulfilled and a loss of autonomy.
A 2015 nationally conducted Mayo Clinic study found that approximately 54 percent of physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout. This large number has lead, at times, to irritability towards patients, early release to lighten workloads and simply not providing the type of care to best benefit the patient. This finding of over half of physicians across the country feeling effects of burnout speaks to the importance of finding its root and ways of relieving this burden on everyone involved. This high number is also a significant indicator that it is not merely a personal phenomenon, but something bigger.
One very important area to examine is the powerful effect from organizational leadership on the physician and nurse. The 2015 Mayo Clinic study found that the better the relationship is with leadership, the more positive and empowered the clinicians feel. The culture, and relationships within it, contributes to the outcomes for every employee as well as patients. If any employee concludes that patients are immune to the effects of negative or positive relationships within a hospital or practice, they are doing everyone involved a great disservice. Patients are along for the ride while feeling the effects of internal relationships, whether positive or negative. This speaks to the great importance of creating positive relationships for those showing up for work every day as well as the patients that hand over their trust.
So, how do those in leadership positions empower health care professionals, while continually meeting the demands of the practice?
Trust. Trust is essential in a relationship of any kind. Creating trusting and open interpersonal relationships between leadership and clinicians is the foundation of positive experiences for everyone involved, including the patient.
When leaders do the work of truly learning about the team around them, finding their strengths, ways to maximize those strengths and then stepping back and truly trusting, the team gradually lets their guard down, feelings of autonomy are significantly increased and trust is built. The team is then on a path together towards a common goal. This often leads to feelings of an increased desire to work for the good of everyone involved and feelings of ownership over the outcomes. In turn, the team of clinicians and nurses also feel a greater sense of knowledge about those in leadership positions. Leading to a greater connection and understanding of what those in leadership roles deem important. When in a situation, clinicians and nurses can call on the strength of that relationship to make decisions based on the good of the entire organization. Trust is then reciprocated and continually strengthened. As Donald Phillips states in “Lincoln On Leadership”: “Leaders have the ability to trust others even if the risk seems great” and “trust is learned only by example”.
Listen. Clinicians want to be heard! Communication is just as much listening as it is talking. Being open to new ideas, listening to real concerns and, in general, stopping and paying attention, will open the lines of communication and strengthen relationships. If professional health care providers understand that those in organizational leadership are taking the time to understand their concerns and are genuinely committed to them, trust will be built.
The good news is that the symptoms of burnout are also dynamic. Building trust with those in organizational leadership, a greater and genuine sense of autonomy, being listened to or seeing just one patient that they connect with and feel they’ve made a difference can reverse these symptoms. A reminder of why they entered this work to begin with can bring a physician or nurse back from very real consideration of leaving the profession entirely. Individually driving toward the greater good, a feeling of fulfillment and genuinely positive relationships with organizational leadership will all do wonders for a clinician or nurse feeling burned out. This will then naturally lead to better care, and that is what this is all about: A genuine win/win.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25796117
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/838437_3
1992. Phillips, Donald T. Lincoln On Leadership. Hachette Book Group
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-08/at-mayo-clinic-researchers-burrow-into-burnout