The National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience offers this collection of resources that highlight strategies and tools that health care leaders and workers can use across practice settings to take action toward decreasing burnout and improving clinician well-being.
Resources are organized into six essential elements, based on Organizational Evidence-Based and Promising Best Practices for Clinician Well-Being.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Measurement & Accountability.
Resource Compendium for Health Care Worker Well-Being
Inappropriate nurse staffing is a persistent and significant barrier to delivering optimal patient care and one of the most dangerous threats to patient safety and nurse well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this challenge to the point of crisis.
It will take a collaborative effort to change the staffing paradigm in our country to one that values nurse staffing as an investment in patient safety and better outcomes rather than an expense.
We know that appropriate staffing ensures an effective match between the needs of the patient and family, and the knowledge, skills and abilities of the nurse. It sounds simple, and yet it is not. It is time to stop bandaging our current staffing model—new approaches are crucial.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Improving Workload & Workflows (Safe & Appropriate Staffing) AND Actionable Strategies for Professional Associations: Spotlights: Professional Associations Operational Strategies (Workloads and Workflows).
Resources for Staffing in Acute & Critical Care
PURPOSE: To determine whether the Conrad Program, which allows states to recruit 30 foreign-trained physicians per year to work in underserved settings, is meeting its goal of increasing the number of physicians in Washington State's underserved areas. Participating physicians have completed their residency training in, and want to continue residing in, the United States. METHOD: The authors identified all J-1 visa waiver physicians assigned to employers in Washington between 1995 and 2003, tracked them (whenever possible) through public databases to their current locations, and surveyed them about their experiences in, and subsequent to, the program. RESULTS: The authors tracked 141 of 155 physicians (91%). Of those 141, 77 (55%) responded to the survey. These respondents reported that they remained with their J-1 waiver employers a median of 23 (range: 0–120) months longer than their required commitment periods and that they remained in practices serving primarily underserved populations for, on average, 34 (0–120) consecutive months after fulfilling their commitments. After leaving J-1 waiver employers, 35 of 47 physicians (74%) who served in rural areas moved toward more urban areas, and 57% (80/141) still live in the state. Whereas most expressed satisfaction with the program, 29/77 (38%) felt employers should have shown them more respect. CONCLUSIONS: In Washington State, the Conrad Program has increased the number of physicians in underserved areas who frequently stay beyond their obligations. The significant movement away from rural areas for postobligation employment, however, highlights the long-term need to continue state efforts to recruit physicians to these areas.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Government: Optimizing Workload & Workflows (Support & Ensure Safe Staffing).
Retention of J-1 Visa Waiver Program Physicians in Washington State's Health Professional Shortage Areas
WHAT TO KNOW
- Healthcare workers face challenging working conditions and high stress levels that can lead to poor mental and physical health.
- Long hours, hazardous conditions, and exposure to suffering and death all affect worker psychological, emotional, and social well-being.
- Learn about risk factors and what NIOSH is doing to help.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Ensuring Physical & Mental Health (Mental Health).
Risk Factors for Stress and Burnout
[This is an excerpt.] La salud mental es un componente importante del bienestar general y es igual de importantecomo la salud física para todos los empleados. Los problemas de salud mental debidos al trabajo tienen el potencial de afectar negativamente las interacciones sociales, la productividad, el rendimiento y el ausentismo de un empleado. El estrés afecta a las personas de diversas maneras, por ejemplo, tensión muscular, dolores de cabeza, malestar estomacal, presión arterial alta y enfermedades cardíacas. Ignorar el estrés enel lugar de trabajo puede tener efectos negativos a largo plazo en las personas, las familias, loscompañeros de trabajo y las comunidades. [To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Workers & Learners: What Workers & Learners Can Do
Salud Mental en el Lugar de Trabajo
[This is an excerpt.] When a family member is drinking too much, using drugs, or struggling with a mental disorder, your support can be key to getting them the treatment they need. Starting the conversation is the first step to getting help. [To read more, click View Resource.]
Starting the Conversation: Supporting A Loved One Dealing with Mental and/or Substance Use Disorders
Stress First Aid (SFA) is a framework to improve recovery from stress reactions, both in oneself and in coworkers. The model aims to support and validate good friendship, mentorship and leadership actions through core actions that help to identify and address early signs of stress reactions in an ongoing way (not just after "critical incidents").
The goal of SFA is to identify stress reactions in self and others along a continuum and to help reduce the likelihood that stress outcomes develop into more severe or long-term problems. The core actions of SFA are appropriate for many occupational settings during critical events as well as for ongoing care. The manuals, trainings and resources below focus on health care workers; links to information about SFA versions specific to high-risk occupations like military, fire and rescue, law enforcement, and pretrial and probation settings are found under Additional SFA Versions and Manuals.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Ensuring Physical & Mental Health (Stress/Trauma & Resilience).
Stress First Aid: Manuals and Resources for Health Care Workers
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions practices are unconstitutional, ending decades of support for considering race as a factor in college admission decisions. To help schools understand the impact of this decision and adapt their efforts focused on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, AACN has created this new resource page, which will be updated on an ongoing basis.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Promoting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action: The National Response and Resources to Move Forward
[This is an excerpt.] On January 25, 2022, the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing (the Commission) released the results from a survey of over 5,600 nurses with findings showing racism is a substantial problem within the profession. [To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Promoting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
Survey Shows Substantial Racism in Nursing
THRIVE enables communities to determine how to improve health and safety, and promote health equity. It is a framework for understanding how structural drivers, such as racism, play out at the community level in terms of the social-cultural, physical/built, and economic/ educational environments. We call these community-level indicators the community determinants of health. In addition to being a framework, THRIVE is also a tool for engaging community members and practitioners in assessing the status of community determinants, prioritizing them, and taking action to change them in order to improve health, safety, and health equity. As a framework, THRIVE is widely applicable to local, state, and national initiatives to inform policy and program direction. As a tool, THRIVE can be used in a variety of planning and implementation processes, from neighborhood-level planning to community health needs assessments (CHNA) and community health improvement planning (CHIP) processes.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Aligning Values (Invest/Advocate for Patients, Communities, & Workers).
THRIVE: Tool for Health & Resilience In Vulnerable Environments
[This is an excerpt.] The Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program helps communities grow their health workforce by training physicians and dentists in community-based settings with a focus on rural and underserved communities. This unique training model changes the physician training paradigm by providing the majority of training in community-based outpatient settings where most people receive their health care. The program aims to:
- Increase physicians and dentists trained in community-based settings
- Improve health outcomes for members of underserved communities
- Expand health care access in underserved and rural areas
[To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Government: Optimizing Workload & Workflows (Support & Ensure Safe Staffing).
Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program
Establishing workflows that support team-based care will boost the productivity of your practice and enhance the experience of your patients. This collection of AMA's STEPS Forward® toolkits offer proven strategies on how to implement team-based care to save time, redistribute and share responsibilities with your team, and allow you to provide better and more timely care.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Professional Associations: Spotlights: Professional Associations Operational Strategies (Workloads and Workflows).
Team-Based Care and Workflow
[This is an excerpt.] The Resilient Nurse podcast is a special series within the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing’s On the Pulse podcast. The podcast discusses tools and practices nursing faculty, students, and new nurses are using to renew and amplify their resilience. Each episode will cover the complexities, misconceptions, and new pathways toward keeping our nursing workforce resilient throughout Maryland and beyond. [To view more, click View Resource.]
The Resilient Nurse Podcast
[This is an excerpt.] In 2023, business leaders across industries contended with a broad call for more responsive, democratic workplaces, exemplified by a resurgent labor movement. Nearly half a million workers withheld their labor in 354 strikes in just the first 10months of the year—roughly four times as many as went on strike over the same time frame in 2022—and the number of petitions for union representation has continually increased over the past two years. [To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Establishing Commitment & Shared Governance (Shared Governance).
The Shared Power Advantage: How to Build a Thriving Company Where Workers Have a Seat at the Table
It takes courage to help child and adult victims of sexual abuse, assist survivors of acts of terrorism and mass violence, fight fires that may have taken people's lives, or respond to shootings and other crime scenes. It also takes commitment to do this work despite the personal, physical, emotional, and mental impact it can have.
The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit (VTT) was developed on the premise that exposure to the traumatic experiences of other people—known as vicarious trauma—is an inevitable occupational challenge for the fields of victim services, emergency medical services, fire services, law enforcement, and other allied professionals; however, organizations can mitigate the potentially negative effects of trauma exposure by becoming vicarious trauma-informed.
The VTT includes tools and resources tailored specifically to these fields that provide the knowledge and skills necessary for organizations to address the vicarious trauma needs of their staff. To begin exploring the VTT, select one of the disciplines below and visit the comprehensive Compendium of Resources.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Ensuring Physical & Mental Health (Stress/Trauma & Resilience).
The Vicarious Trauma Toolkit: Blueprint for a Vicarious Trauma-Informed Organization
Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals face unique barriers that can result in occupational injustice, deprivation, and alienation. Through cultural humility, occupational therapy practitioners can provide inclusive care to TGD individuals that is supported by the AOTA Code of Ethics. We have the skills necessary to deliver client-centered, gender-affirming care that promotes engagement in healthy occupations.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Professional Associations: Spotlights: Professional Associations Relational Strategies (Improving Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion).
Transgender & Gender-Diverse Inclusive Resources for Your Practice
Urban Universities for HEALTH (Health Equity through Alignment, Leadership, and Transformation of the Health Workforce) aims to enhance and expand a culturally sensitive, diverse, and prepared health workforce that improves health and reduces health disparities in urban communities.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Promoting Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
Urban Universities for HEALTH
Did you know that a hospital is one of the most hazardous places to work? In 2019, U.S. hospitals recorded 221,400 work-related injuries and illnesses, a rate of 5.5 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees. This is almost twice the rate for private industry as a whole.
OSHA created a suite of resources to help hospitals assess workplace safety needs, implement safety and health management systems, and enhance their safe patient handling programs. Preventing worker injuries not only helps workers—it also helps patients and will save resources for hospitals. Download the overview and explore the links below to learn more about the resources available.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Ensuring Physical & Mental Health (Occupational Safety).
Worker Safety in Hospitals: Caring for Our Caregivers
A key to successful implementation of health information technology (health IT) is to recognize its impact on both clinical and administrative workflow. Once implemented, health IT can provide information to help you reorganize and improve your workflow. This toolkit is designed for people and organizations interested or involved in the planning, design, implementation, and use of health IT in ambulatory care.
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Improving Workload & Workflows (Reducing Administrative Burdens).
Workflow Assessment for Health IT Toolkit
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Health Organizations: Ensuring Physical & Mental Health (Workplace Violence Prevention).
