Burnout Isn’t the Whole Story – And Repair Is About More Than Individual Resilience

Original Launch: Feb 2, 2023

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YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/pm0fqWhgOFw

Strikes by healthcare workers worldwide, like the one that just ended in NYC, have nearly doubled in the last two years. Many decry severe staffing shortages drive patient safety fears. A recent NY Times article discussed how Ascension created its staffing mess; it doesn't blame the pandemic or the great resignation but targets leadership for bare-bones staffing. It’s true that pre-pandemic staffing practices, which left organizations badly strained by the virus, are partly responsible for the crisis. But it is as much about what Ed Yong wrote in the Atlantic in 2021, “Healthcare workers aren't quitting because they can’t handle their jobs. They’re quitting because they can’t handle being unable to do their jobs.” For too long, employers failed to heed warnings about the dangers of dysfunctional systems. Instead, they relied on frontline staff's altruism, resourcefulness, and patient-first commitment to make those systems work. The pandemic laid bare the inherent betrayal in that approach, needlessly putting staff and patients at risk. Organizations must go beyond offering individual solutions and psychological support to reverse the exodus from healthcare. They must commit to operational transformation focused on facilitating frontline care and repairing the disaffection with their workforce.

Speaker: Wendy Dean, MD, President, and Co-Founder, The Moral Injury of Healthcare

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