How can you support staff experiencing burnout or compassion fatigue?
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Burnout and compassion fatigue are common and serious issues among healthcare workers, especially in times of crisis and high demand. They can affect your physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as your performance, morale, and relationships. As a healthcare manager, you have a responsibility and an opportunity to support your staff and help them cope with these challenges. Here are some strategies you can use to create a positive and supportive work environment for your team.
Awareness of the signs of burnout and compassion fatigue is the first step in supporting your staff. Burnout is a chronic state of stress and exhaustion caused by an excessive workload, lack of control, or lack of recognition. Compassion fatigue is an emotional and spiritual depletion resulting from caring for those who are suffering or traumatized. Signs of burnout and compassion fatigue may include irritability, cynicism, reduced work quality or quantity, physical symptoms such as headaches or fatigue, mental symptoms such as anxiety or depression, and even substance abuse. Ignoring or dismissing these signs should not be an option; they indicate a need for intervention and support.
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David Lee Scher,MD, FACP, FACC, FHRS, FESC
Board Member @ DVHIMSS | Physician, Chief Medical Officer at SpeechMED and Consult List, digital health tech pioneer and consultant
The focus should not be on how mgrs react to staff burnout but how the culture of the entire enterprise changes to focus on the patient. Clinicians are burnt out because of 2 major issues: The burden of the EHR and the tone deafness of the administration regarding workloads, workflows, and emphasis on profits vs patient outcomes. As a member of the HIMSS Clinician Burden Reduction Task Force, I am proud to say we are trying to address these as well as other issues. Burnout is not the appropriate description because it places the onus of improvement on the victim. A weekend staff picnic or a massage machine for 1/2 day doesn’t address burnout. It is lip service and self-congratulations of the admins.
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Stacy Shillan
National Director of Neurology and Immunology
Encourage your support staff teams to utilize their vacation time, award them with spa days to appreciate their hard work and extra efforts; If your teams work over, going above and beyond, reward them with comp time, “Mental Health Days.” Award recognition is great for team morale, showing your teams they are valued and appreciated is one of the most important things you can do, both for individuals and Teams. Providing gift cards so they can enjoy a night out, purchase something for their selves is always well received too.
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The second step to support your staff is to give them the resources and support they need to combat burnout and compassion fatigue. This could include offering flexible work schedules, breaks, or time off; providing access to counseling, coaching, or peer support groups; encouraging self-care practices such as exercise, meditation, or hobbies; providing training on stress management, resilience, or coping skills; recognizing and rewarding achievements, efforts, or contributions; creating a culture of openness, trust, and feedback; and seeking feedback from your staff on how to improve the work environment. By providing these resources and support, you can help your staff feel valued, respected, and empowered. Additionally, it can help reduce the risk of turnover, absenteeism, or errors.
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Dr Debashish Bhattacharya
Consultant Pediatric Surgeon & Head Director of Business Operations @ Ministry of Health | MPhil
Before talking about available resources and manoeuvres to heal Burnout fatigue, the first cardinal step is after identification, open up a Dialogue in confidence and reassurance with the sole purpose of helping the colleague or subordinate to share with you his true anguish and frustration. Until you know what is the issue, offering remedies is meaningless or less useful in my opinion. Once you have the problem understood , then you can put a roadmap for fixing it comfortably.
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Jennifer Hoopes
I'm an enthusiastic communications professional skilled in providing executive support in higher education and healthcare administration. I anticipate what you need to get your job done and put it right in front of you.
Whether you are in a high-stress environment or not, you can see burnout in your staff. If you see or hear from others that an employee is struggling ask to speak to the person privately. Without being judgemental, acknowledge that they seem to be having a hard time. If there are no serious issues at work or home, it may be fatigue. Offer to help them set up time off immediately to rest and rejuvenate. In my experience with administrative staff, often a day of freedom and time away from their duties is enough to refresh a tired, stressed employee. And the knowledge that the supervisor cares is something that builds a strong relationship.
As a healthcare manager, it is important to model healthy behaviors yourself in order to support your staff. This includes practicing what you preach and utilizing the resources available to you, maintaining a balance between work and personal life, setting realistic expectations and boundaries for yourself and your staff, communicating effectively and respectfully with everyone involved, seeking help when you need it and admitting your mistakes, expressing gratitude and appreciation for your staff and yourself. By modeling healthy behaviors, you can demonstrate that you care about the well-being of your staff as well as your own. This will create a positive and supportive work culture that values health and wellness.
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Dr. Barbara Seymour, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CPPS
AVP Member Connections
While much is offered in how executives influence staff wellbeing, little evidence focuses on the wellbeing of the leader. I recently authored a blog that discusses this and how the nurse leader especially can provide for their own wellbeing and model these behaviors. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-barbara-seymour-dnp-rn-ne-bc-cpps-64218b2a_promoting-chief-nurse-executives-self-care-activity-7123669047325458432-ua-J?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios
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Ivan Grubisic
CEO @ ZenZen Beauty & Spa / Senior Nurse @ Vikand Solutions / ACLS & Trauma Medic
Leaders should lead by example, demonstrating a healthy work-life balance and taking steps to reduce their stress. A supportive leadership style fosters a positive work environment.
The fourth step to support your staff is to promote teamwork and collaboration among them. Working in healthcare can be difficult, but fostering a sense of teamwork and collaboration can help your staff share the workload, learn from each other, support one another, celebrate successes, and build trust. To encourage this, you can create opportunities for team building, encourage cross-functional cooperation and learning, involve your staff in decision making, provide clear communication and information, and resolve conflicts promptly. This will help your staff feel connected, valued, and empowered, as well as improve the quality and efficiency of your services.
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Kamal Amzan, Dr
CEO, Gleneagles Hospital Johor
Healthcare demands can be taxing, yet a collaborative spirit allows for shared burdens, mutual learning, and mutual support. Celebrating successes together builds trust. Facilitate this by organizing team-building activities, fostering cross-functional cooperation, involving staff in decision-making, ensuring transparent communication, and swiftly resolving conflicts. Such an environment makes staff feel valued and connected, enhancing their sense of empowerment. This not only uplifts your team but also elevates service quality and efficiency.
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Ivan Grubisic
CEO @ ZenZen Beauty & Spa / Senior Nurse @ Vikand Solutions / ACLS & Trauma Medic
Ensure access to mental health resources, like counseling services or Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Make sure staff are aware of these resources and encourage their use.
As a healthcare manager, you have a responsibility to ensure that your staff are safe, satisfied, and productive. To support your staff, it is important to seek feedback and improvement on your own performance and the work environment. You should ask for their opinions, suggestions, or concerns on a regular basis and use data, evidence, or best practices to identify areas of improvement or innovation. Additionally, you should conduct surveys, interviews, or focus groups to measure and monitor staff satisfaction. After implementing changes or improvements based on the feedback and data, it is essential to communicate them clearly and transparently. Also, you should evaluate the impact and outcomes of the changes or improvements and make adjustments as needed. By taking these steps to seek feedback and improvement, you can show your staff that you value their input and involvement while also enhancing your own skills and knowledge.
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Ivan Grubisic
CEO @ ZenZen Beauty & Spa / Senior Nurse @ Vikand Solutions / ACLS & Trauma Medic
Conduct regular check-ins to assess staff well-being and workload. Ask about their experiences and address concerns proactively.