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BACKGROUND: Burn-out is a long-standing problem among healthcare workers (HCWs) and leads to poorer quality and less safe patient care, lower patient satisfaction, absenteeism and reduced workforce retention. Crises such as the pandemic not only generate new challenges but also intensify existing workplace stresses and chronic workforce shortages. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the global health workforce is burnt-out and under immense pressure, with multiple individual, organisational and healthcare system drivers. METHOD: In this article, we examine how key organisational and leadership approaches can facilitate mental health support for HCWs and identify strategies to support HCWs that are critical for supporting workforce well-being during the pandemic. RESULTS: We identified 12 key approaches at the organisational and individual levels for healthcare leadership to support workforce well-being during the COVID-19 crisis. These approaches may inform leadership responses to future crises. CONCLUSION: Governments, healthcare organisations and leaders must invest and deliver long-term measures to value, support and retain the health workforce to preserve high-quality healthcare.

This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Empowering Worker & Learner Voice (Worker & Learner Engagement).

Fifty-six percent of nurses in a national sample reported burnout symptoms in 2022. Although the nursing literature on burnout dates back to 1978, nurses and other health professionals continue to grapple with this workplace phenomenon that leads to deleterious outcomes, including suicide. The suicide risk among US nurses now surpasses that of physicians. Stories of nurses who have died by suicide or considered it are emerging, and some are similar to this suicide note titled, “A Letter to My Abuser,” which was published as a letter to the editor from the nurse’s parents. More attention is needed to meaningfully address nursing burnout and this can be done by also using an equity lens.

Burnout is a phenomenon characterized by high emotional exhaustion—feelings of energy depletion, high depersonalization (i.e., cynicism) and detachment from the job, and loss of professional efficacy—sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. In fact, it has received a certain kind of official imprimatur by having its own ICD-10 code and now it is considered a “syndrome,” although it is not classified as a medical condition. In the ICD-11 classification, burnout appears in the section on problems related to employment or unemployment. Burn-out is included in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. It is not classified as a medical condition. It has to be related to the occupational context, but it’s not just fatigue or even emotional drain that follows a busy night on call, especially when you know all you need is a good night’s sleep. It is also not depression.

BACKGROUND: Nurse faculty burnout is a growing concern in the United States. There are limited studies exploring the level of burnout in nursing faculty. PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of burnout among nurse faculty in undergraduate and graduate programs and its relationship with specific demographic and organizational variables. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was employed to examine the level of burnout of nursing faculty. An internet-based survey was administered to nursing faculty in over 1000 schools of nursing in the United States. Burnout was measured using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: A total of 3556 surveys were returned. Among all participants, most of the sample exhibited moderate levels of burnout, exhaustion, and disengagement. Based on the findings from the OBI, a moderate/high exhaustion level was reported in 85.5 % of participants, while disengagement was moderate/high in 84.9 %, and overall burnout was at moderate/high levels in 85.2 % of the nursing faculty. CONCLUSIONS: The nation's nurse faculty population is experiencing a moderate to high level of burnout, exhaustion, and disengagement. Academic nursing leaders are encouraged to identify ways and take action to reduce faculty burnout and promote faculty wellness and resilience.

Physician burnout is increasing in prevalence and has negative implications for the quality of patient care and the health and wellbeing of physicians. Surveys before the COVID-19 pandemic showed high rates of burnout among breast radiologists, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further increased stress. This article summarizes strategies to combat burnout, including improving individual resilience by increasing mindfulness about handling stress, making goals, and noting personal accomplishments. However, more effective change is likely to occur when there is change at both a personal and an organizational level, which includes identifying the stakeholders in a workplace and determining what changes must occur to increase joy and decrease rates of burnout. Despite the increasing rates of burnout, breast radiologists report high rates of personal career satisfaction. Self-reflection and positive steps to increase joy at work are important in maintaining career fulfillment in these challenging times.

OBJECTIVE: Long-term changes in burnout and its predictors in hospital staff during the COVID-19 pandemic were investigated in an international study. METHODS: Two online surveys were distributed to hospital staff in seven countries (Germany, Andorra, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Romania, Iran) between May and October 2020 (T1) and between February and April 2021 (T2), using the following variables: Burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization), job function, age, gender, and contact with COVID-19 patients; individual resources (self-compassion, sense of coherence, social support) and work-related resources and demands (support at the workplace, risk perception, health and safety at the workplace, altruistic acceptance of risk). Data were analyzed using linear mixed models repeated measures, controlled for age. RESULTS: A total of 612 respondents were included (76% women). We found an increase in burnout from T1 to T2. Burnout was high among personnel with high contact with COVID-19 patients. Individual factors (self-compassion, sense of coherence) and work-related factors (support at the workplace, risk perception, health and safety at the workplace) showed associations with burnout. Low health and safety at the workplace at T1 was associated with an increase in emotional exhaustion at T2. Men showed an increase in depersonalization if they had much contact with COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSION: Burnout represents a potential problematic consequence of occupational contact with COVID-19 patients. Special attention should be paid to this group in organizational health management. Self-compassion, sense of coherence, support at the workplace, risk perception, and health and safety at the workplace may be important starting points for interventions.

[This is an excerpt.] As a professor at a school of nursing, I have responded to numerous inquiries from my former students who are interested in changing positions, transferring to nonpatient care areas, or seeking work outside the profession of nursing altogether. They describe relentless demands that exceed their tolerance for occupational stress and report being tired and feeling hopeless as they struggle to cope with the protracted effects of the pandemic and challenges in the workplace. They are concerned about their own physical and mental well-being and fear that their professional obligation to provide quality care is in jeopardy. These distressing personal reports from new graduates in their formative years of training are consistent with recent national reports from media outlets that alert readers to the patient safety risks related to deteriorating working conditions in hospitals and a clinical workforce that is suffering from burnout and on the edge of collapse. What began as a call to duty for U.S. health care professionals to respond to a global emergency has resulted in a parallel pandemic of burnout with personal consequences, job disruptions, and potential risk to patients because of compromised quality of care. [To read more, click View Resource.]

Burnout among nurses is a widespread phenomenon.The wellness of caregivers determines their ability to give patient centred care. Understanding the causes and management of burnout is essential in improving the working life of nurses. This study was aimed at reviewing available evidence systematically on the factors responsible for burnout in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses and to identify the preventive and management strategies in mitigating the menace of burnout.

While burnout among health care workers has been well studied, little is known about the extent to which burnout among health care workers impacts the outcomes of their care recipients. To test this, we used a multi-year (2014?2020) survey of care aides working in approximately 90 nursing homes (NHs); the survey focused on work-life measures, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and work-unit identifier. Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS 2.0) data were obtained on all residents in the sampled NHs during this time and included a unit identifier for each resident. We used multi-level models to test associations between the MBI emotional exhaustion and cynicism sub-scales reported by care aides and the resident outcomes of antipsychotics without indication, depressive symptoms, and responsive behaviors among residents on units. In 2019/2020, our sample included 3,547 care aides and 10,117 residents in 282 units. The mean frequency of emotional exhaustion and cynicism across units was 43% and 50%, respectively. While residents frequently experienced antipsychotics without indication 1,852 (18.3%), depressive symptoms 2,089 (20.7%), and responsive behaviors 3,891 (38.5%), none were found to be associated with either emotional exhaustion or cynicism among care aides.

BACKGROUND: Burnout among health care professionals contributes to high job turnover. Within the United States, burnout among specialty palliative care (PC) providers will accentuate provider shortage problems. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review was conducted to answer the question "what is known about burnout among specialty PC providers practicing in the United States?" More specifically, it was designed to identify the rate of burnout and factors that influence or mitigate it among PC nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PA), and physicians and to inform future research. DATA SOURCES: An electronic literature search of studies conducted in the United States between 2012 and September 2022 was completed in Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of 14 studies showed that there are five primary themes related to burnout among PC providers: (1) the rate of burnout, (2) the physical, psychological, and clinical manifestations of burnout, (3) predictors of burnout, (4) factors of resiliency, and (5) interventions piloted to decrease burnout. The majority of studies have delineated the physician role but have failed to determine the rate and factors of burnout among PC NPs and PAs. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: As NPs and PAs are integral to the PC provider workforce, future research should be designed to understand more clearly how burnout affects these two PC roles to inform efforts to sustain the PC workforce.

Psychiatry residency training includes unique characteristics that can predispose trainees to burnout, including vicarious traumatization, prevalence of patient suicide and violence in the workplace, and social stigma surrounding mental health. For the purposes of this article, the authors examine these contributing factors and address how psychiatry residency training programs, specifically the Kaiser Permanente Oakland program, are responding to these unique challenges with wellness initiatives. Initiatives to promote wellness at Kaiser Permanente Oakland include a resident and faculty–led wellness committee, work-hour limits, reasonable call schedules, a robust mentorship program, funded social and networking events programs, and comprehensive mental health services.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To craft an approach to thwart early triggers of symptoms on the burnout continuum for trauma surgeons based on an understanding of drivers of burnout, second victim syndrome, peer-to-peer support, and trauma-informed care. RECENT FINDINGS: Trauma surgeons are particularly vulnerable to risk factors of burnout such as work–life imbalance, higher risk of adverse events, and more exposure to emotionally distressing work events such as witnessing abuse, neglect, and high rates of death among younger patients. Evidence supports the benefit of peer support for the personality style of physicians who often feel unable to show vulnerability as leaders of medical teams. Trauma-informed care allows for optimizing interventions by minimizing triggers from prior distressing events. SUMMARY: An ABCDE (Acknowledge; Bear Witness; Offer Coping Support; Debrief; Enlighten, Engage, and Educate) algorithm for surgeons is an early first step in ameliorating the triggers on the continuum of burnout.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Pediatric Resident Burnout and Resilience Consortium (PRB-RSC) has described the epidemiology of burnout in pediatric residents since 2016. We hypothesized burnout rates during the pandemic would increase. We explored resident burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship to resident perception of workload, training, personal life, and local COVID burden. METHODS: Since 2016, PRB-RSC has sent an annual, confidential survey to over 30 pediatric and medicine-pediatrics residencies. In 2020 and 2021, seven questions were added to explore the relationship of COVID-19 and perceptions of workload, training, and personal life. RESULTS: In 2019, 46 programs participated, 22 in 2020, and 45 in 2021. Response rates in 2020 (n = 1055, 68%) and 2021(n = 1702, 55%) were similar to those of previous years (P = .09). Burnout rates in 2020 were significantly lower than in 2019 (54% vs 66%, P < .001) but returned to pre-COVID levels in 2021 (65%, P = .90). In combined 2020–2021 data, higher rates of burnout were associated with reported increased workload (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.38, 95% CI 1.19–1.6) and concerns regarding the effect of COVID on training (AOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.2–1.53). Program-level county COVID burden in combined 2020–2021 data was not associated with burnout in this model (AOR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.70–1.52). CONCLUSIONS: Burnout rates within reporting programs decreased significantly in 2020 and returned to prepandemic levels in 2021. Increased burnout was associated with perceived increases in workload and concerns regarding effect of the pandemic on training. Given these findings, programs should consider further investigation into workload and training uncertainty on burnout.

CONTEXT: Physicians face a high rate of burnout, especially during the residency training period when trainees often experience a rapid increase in professional responsibilities and expectations. Effective burnout prevention programs for resident physicians are needed to address this significant issue. OBJECTIVE: To examine the content, format, and effectiveness of resident burnout interventions published in the last 10 years. DESIGN: The literature search was conducted on the MEDLINE database with the following keywords: internship, residency, health promotion, wellness, occupational stress, burnout, program evaluation, and program. Only studies published in English between 2010 and 2020 were included. Exclusion criteria were studies on interventions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies on duty hour restrictions, and studies without assessment of resident well-being postintervention. RESULTS: Thirty studies were included, with 2 randomized controlled trials, 3 case-control studies, 20 pretest and posttest studies, and 5 case reports. Of the 23 studies that used a validated well-being assessment tool, 10 reported improvements postintervention. These effective burnout interventions were longitudinal and included wellness training (7 of 10), physical activities (4 of 10), healthy dietary habits (2 of 10), social activities (1 of 10), formal mentorship programs (1 of 10), and health checkups (1 of 10). Combinations of burnout interventions, low numbers of program participants with high dropout rates, lack of a control group, and lack of standardized well-being assessment are the limitations identified. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal wellness training and other interventions appear effective in reducing resident burnout. However, the validity and generalizability of the results are limited by the study designs.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence and severity of impostor phenomenon and burnout in newly licensed registered nurses, map the current literature on impostor phenomenon in nursing, and identify related factors affecting the new nurse's transition to practice. BACKGROUND: Impostor phenomenon is an internalised intellectual phoniness resulting in persistent self-doubt despite prior success. It can evoke feelings of emotional exhaustion associated with burnout, negatively affecting employee retention. Due to changes in nursing education resulting from COVID-19, self-doubt and uncertainty among new nurses are expected to be heightened, leading to burnout which adversely effects nurse well-being, patient care and retention. DESIGN: The scoping review follows the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and the Reporting Checklist for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. METHODS: The literature search was conducted utilising PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Inclusion criteria were studies published between 2011 and 2021, written in English, peer-reviewed, and focused on newly licensed registered nurses. Eighteen articles were reviewed. RESULTS: Studies on impostor phenomenon in nursing are limited to nursing students and clinical nurse specialists. Prevalence of impostor feelings in these populations range from 36% to 75%, and 12.3% to 46% of new nurses report burnout. Impostor feelings arise from role ambiguity, lack of self-compassion, transitions, and minimal clinical experience. Burnout was associated with stress, feeling unprepared, inadequate socialisation, and lack of self-compassion. Overlap in these factors could increase impostor feelings and burnout in new nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Effects of impostor phenomenon and burnout can negatively impact the well-being of the new nurse. Currently, no studies simultaneously examine impostor phenomenon and burnout in new nurses. Further research on the relationship between these phenomena should be conducted. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding the impact of impostor phenomenon and burnout on new nurses could help mitigate challenges they face transitioning into practice.

OBJECTIVE: Burnout has detrimental consequences for health care organizations, clinicians, and the quality of care that patients receive. Prior work suggests that workplace incivility (negative interpersonal acts) contributes to burnout. While workplace incivility is linked to EMS practitioner job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and planned attrition, the relationship between workplace incivility and burnout has not been evaluated among EMS practitioners. This study aimed to characterize the prevalence and association of burnout and workplace incivility among EMS practitioners. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of EMS personnel in King County, Washington was performed in January to March of 2021 with burnout as the primary outcome and workplace incivility as a secondary outcome. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between outcomes and EMS practitioner factors that included age, sex, race/ethnicity, years of EMS experience, and current job role. RESULTS: 835 completed surveys were received (response rate 25%). The prevalence of burnout was 39.2%. Women were more likely to have burnout than men (59.3% vs. 33.7%, aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3–3.7). Workplace incivility was experienced weekly by 32.1% of respondents, with women more likely to experience incivility compared to men (41.9% vs. 27.2%, aOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2–3.3). Respondents who experienced frequent workplace incivility were more likely to have burnout than those who did not experience frequent incivility (61.9% vs. 38.1%, OR 4.0, 95% CI 3.0–5.5). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of burnout and workplace incivility were concerning among EMS practitioners, with women more likely to experience both compared to men. EMS practitioners who experienced frequent workplace incivility were also more likely to have burnout than those who did not experience frequent incivility.

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This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Public Safety Organizations: Drivers (Relational Breakdown)

The prevalence of burnout is much higher in physicians than in other occupations. Academic physicians serve important functions, training future physicians and advancing medical research in addition to doing clinical work. However, they are particularly vulnerable to burnout for reasons including low compensation for teaching, pressure to publish despite a lack of time and declining research funds, and a redistribution of clinical workload due to restrictions on trainee work hours. Junior faculty, women, and marginalized groups are the most affected. Beyond poor physician health and worse patient outcomes, burnout is strongly associated with reduced work effort and an intent to leave the profession. Moreover, physicians are leaving the workforce in record numbers, further increasing the stress on remaining physicians. Combined with a worsening of quality of patient care, this increased rate of physician burnout threatens the viability of health care organizations. This review discusses the causes and consequences of faculty burnout, as well as interventions undertaken for its mitigation.

Burnout is a feeling of exhaustion that leads to negative effects for those experiencing it. These feelings of exhaustion and depersonalization are common in social workers, and were only exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Feelings of burnout can lead to health problems for the social worker, and increased odds of a negative outcome for their clients. This study aimed to answer the question: does the average Masters of Social Work (MSW) student experience burnout? Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory for students, 36 respondents were found, on average, to not be suffering from burnout. One limitation of this study may be its small sample size. Implications of these findings are discussed.

[This is an excerpt.] In the last decade, there has been a heightened awareness of burnout in medicine, particularly in medical education. It has garnered further attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, with healthcare workers facing a tremendous amount of pressure to care for patients with an unknown illness, while working long hours in personal protective equipment and putting themselves and their families at risk. Similarly, the pandemic precipitated burnout in medical students as many started and completed their clinical rotations during the height of the pandemic, all while preparing and applying for residency. While the pandemic may have accentuated the issues faced by healthcare workers and medical students and brought public attention to them, the concept of burnout remains unclear and difficult to define despite being referenced on a regular basis. [To read more, click View Resource.]

After reviewing a substantial amount of published data on academic physician burnout, we were left pondering the question, “Are we on the right track with combating burnout?” This point–counterpoint manuscript details two opposing viewpoints: 1) the current approach to fighting burnout is working, and 2) resources should be diverted and focus placed on other areas because current interventions are failing physicians. In addressing these points, we discuss four poignant questions that we discovered researching this multifaceted issue: 1) Why do current burnout interventions have limited effects on prevalence over time? 2) Who benefits from the current health care structure (is burnout a profitable and desirable consequence of our work environment)? 3) What organizational conceptual frameworks are most beneficial to improve burnout? 4) How do we take responsibility and seize the ground for our own well-being? Though these differing viewpoints provoked an engaging and lively conversation among our writing team, we all agree on one point. Burnout is an immense problem that affects physicians, patients, and society; therefore, it demands our attention and resources.