Burnout currently affects more than half of health professionals and impacts the quality and safety of healthcare. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, insomnia, burnout and intent to leave drastically increased during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the Surgeon General issued national calls to action to highlight the prevalence of the issue and the bidirectional relationship between clinician well-being and patient care and safety.
RESOURCES
- Al Maqbali, M., Al Sinani, M., & Al-Lenjawi, B. (2021). Prevalence of stress, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 141, 110343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.110343
- Dzau, V. J., Kirch, D. G., & Nasca, T. J. (2018). To care is human—Collectively confronting the clinician-burnout crisis. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(4), 312–314. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1715127
- Fleisher, L. A., Schreiber, M., Cardo, D., & Srinivasan, A. (2022). Health care safety during the pandemic and beyond – Building a system that ensures resilience. The New England Journal of Medicine, 386(7), 609–611. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2118285
- Melnyk, B.M., Hsieh, A.P., Teall, A.M., Tan, A., Weberg, D., Jun, J., Gawlik, K., & Hoying, J. (2022). Associations Among Nurses’ Mental/Physical Health, Lifestyle Behaviors, Shift Length and Workplace Wellness Support During COVID-19: Important Implications for Healthcare Systems. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 46(1), 5-18. doi: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000499
- Melnyk, B., Tan, A., Hsieh, A., Gawlik, K., Arslanian-Engoren, C., Braun, L., Dunbar, S., Dunbar-Jacob, J., Lewis, L., Millan, A., Orsolini, L., Robbins, L., Russell, C., Tucker, S., & Wilbur, J. (2021) Critical Care Nurses’ Physical and Mental Health, Worksite Wellness Support, and Medical Errors. American Journal of Critical Care, 30(3). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34161980/
- National Academies of Sciences. (2018). Factors affecting clinician well-being and resilience. Retrieved from https://nam.edu/clinicianwellbeing/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Factors-Affecting-Clinician-Well-Being-and-Resilience-July-2019.pdf
- National Academy of Medicine. (2020, February). A call to action: Improving clinician wellbeing and patient care and safety. Retrieved from https://nam.edu/clinicianwellbeing/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CallToAction_ExecutiveSummary.pdf
- US Department of Health and Human Services. (23 May, 2022). New Surgeon General Advisory sounds alarm on health worker burnout and resignation. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/05/23/new-surgeon-general-advisory-sounds-alarm-on-health-worker-burnout-and-resignation.html