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HEALTH CARE BURNOUT

REQUIRED COVER PAGE TO BE USED FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS

Master of Science Program in Health Services Administration

College of Health Sciences

Course Number & Name HSA 668- Health Care Human Resource Management

Semester & Year Summer 2020

Instructor’s Name

Title of Assignment Health Care Burnout

Assignment Date July 14th, 2020

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY:

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RECEIVE IN ITS PREPARATION IS FULLY ACKNOWLEDGED AND DISCLOSED IN THE
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EITHER QUOTED DIRECTLY OR PARAPHRASED. I ALSO CERTIFY THAT THIS PAPER WAS
PREPARED BY ME SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS COURSE.

A paper must be turned in for each student listed below with original signature.

Student Name (Print) Student (Signature) Barry ID Number

Instructor’s Signature

Instructor’s Grade

Instructor’s Comments
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Health Care Burnout

HSA 668 – Health Care Human Resource Management

Barry University
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Background

Burnout is the culmination of three factors which include emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization and cynicism, and decreased sense of personal accomplishment which is

permeated by working in a constantly highly stressful environment (Bridgeman, 2018). It was

first coined by psychologist, Herbert Freudenberger, in 1974 in his research which he conducted

on volunteers in a free medical clinic. When coming up with the term burnout, he was focused

on the physical and behavioral symptoms which include increasing anger, suspicion, frustration,

and paranoia about the influence of counterparts on one’s own personal career ambitions,

excessive rigidity and inflexibility in practice, and finally showing characteristics of suffering

from depression (Bridgeman, 2018).

Healthcare workers who are experiencing emotional exhaustion feel indifferent and

uninterested in their work and cannot become invested in their day to day workflow (Bridgeman,

2018). As the emotional exhaustion become more intense, this then leads to depersonalization

and cynicism (Bridgeman, 2018). The depersonalization and cynicism cause the healthcare

worker to then feel detachment from their workplace and leads to taking the human side out of

their work (Bridgeman, 2018). Finally reduced personal accomplishment causes the healthcare

worker to feel unhappy and dissatisfied even if it is a job well done or a good result (Bridgeman,

2018).

All these thoughts, feelings and actions result in a healthcare worker loathing each day

that they must enter the workplace and where there is an emotionally, physically, and mentally

exhausted worker this will without a doubt lead to a poor healthcare delivery system. This can

lead to poor clinician decision-making and avoidable medical errors which can result in death. It

is vital that healthcare organizations in the overall wellness of who they employ. There are many
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contributing factors to burnout which include the clunky workflow epidemic, long hours and

sleep deprivation, financial stress and student debt, and overall loss of control.

Problems, Issues, Concerns

Recent data suggests that burnout may affect up to 50% of practitioners with the primary

focus on nurses and physicians. Approximately 25% to 33% of critical care nurses develop

burnout syndrome and up to 86% of critical care nurses will demonstrate 1 of the 3 classic

symptoms (Bethea, 2019). In physicians, it is reported that up to 45% suffer from burnout and

especially high rates have been reported in pediatric intensivists (Bethea, 2019).

Electronic health records were to make administrative work more efficient; however, the

opposite effect has occurred due these programs lacking user friendliness. As a result, healthcare

workers are frustrated and spending exorbitant amounts of time fulfilling electronic health record

tasks (Clark, 2019). There is also an overwhelming amount of new tech that these works must

learn and master. It requires training, integration and ensuring a fail-safe cybersecurity system

(Clark, 2019). To ensure effectiveness of these new technology, being easy to use and

understand is critical. Long hours and sleep deprivation also affect the mood, attention span and

memory of healthcare workers and it is universally known that sleep is not part of the job

description. The higher your position; the less sleep you will attain in this profession. Nurses

especially work night shifts which disrupts the circadian rhythm which leads to mental

exhaustion which leads to burnout (Clark, 2019).

It is estimated that the average medical student will face $192,000 in student debt when

they enter the workforce (Clark, 2019). This leads to immense pressure on new physicians and

the want to take on longer hours and more shifts to pay off their debt. The lack of funds to have a

recreational side of life or to put towards retirement hangs like a sword over these physician’s
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heads. Add to the fact that, the threat of malpractice costs. With the years, development of new

technology, insurance companies, and the medical field transitioning into a more business

mindset, the doctor’s autonomy and decision-making power shrinks (Clark, 2019). All these

factors listed above lead to doctor’s feeling inadequate, discredited, and insufficient.

Because of burnout, healthcare providers can cause poor decision making and medical

errors. It is estimated that burnout has cost $5 billion per year related to reduced clinical

productivity and increased physician turnover (Yates, 2019). A meta-analysis of 47 studies

which involved over 42,000 physicians discovered that physician burnout led to double the risk

of patient safety incidents and led to poorer overall quality of care and decreased patient

satisfaction (Yates, 2019). Other studies have shown that as the emotional exhaustion levels of

physicians and nurses working in intensive care units rose, the patient mortality rates also

increased (Dyrbye, 2017). Also, there is a correlation between physician’s degree of

depersonalization and patient satisfaction (Dyrbye, 2017).

Also, healthcare workers burnout can lead to huge healthcare costs. The cost of turnover

for nurses is estimated to be 1.2 to 1.3 times their salary (Dyrbye, 2017). Costs to replace one

physician depends on several factors which include specialty, location and length of vacancy and

can range from hundreds of thousands to more than $1 million dollars (Dyrbye, 2017). Increased

costs can also be contributed by more referrals, ordering more tests, medical errors, malpractice

claims, absenteeism, and lower job productivity (Dyrbye, 2017). Finally, burnout can lead to

self-destructive behavior which include alcohol abuse/dependence and even increased odds of

suicidal ideation (Dyrbye, 2017)

Alternative Solutions

Possible solution to healthcare workers burnout includes involving leadership, choosing

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incentives wisely, encouraging work life balance, encouraging peer support, furnishing resources

for self-care and mental health and targeting burnout from the beginning of medical school

(Reith, 2018). The executive administration must instill in their organization that burnout is real

and is happening and as result will implement a culture of self-care among their employees

(Keith, 2018). It has been demonstrated that organizations with great leadership skills which

include the well-being of their employees will demonstrate increased job satisfaction.

In addition, these leaders must also choose their incentives wisely. In the past, it was

always financial incentives that was used to motivate staff which led to overwork and shorter

amounts of time with each patient to gain more patients which led to burnout. Today,

organizations are trying to move toward a more alterative rewards which include a more flexible

schedule or time off (Keith, 2018). This goes hand in hand with creating a more work life

balance. Allowing physicians and nurses to create their schedule whereby they would complete

their same of numbers but broken up in a way that suits their lifestyle. It has been proven that

healthcare employees who spent 20% of their time in work that was actually fulfilling had a

higher job satisfaction (Keith, 2020).

Social interaction with fellow peers is also pertinent to the mental health of healthcare

workers. Allowing peers to share their triumphs, concerns and daily grind allows the employee to

know they are not alone in the issues that they are facing. Today, the stigma of mental health

awareness is slowly diminishing. As a result, more organization are trying to provide mental

health resources to their employees which include coverage for attending counselling, providing

healthier food options, providing mindfulness or exercise programs at hospitals, and facilitating

memberships to local gyms (Keith, 2018).

Finally, burnout needs to be acknowledged from medical school. Medical students need
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to be aware of the signs and symptoms of burnout from the beginning. Medical schools have

started to implement wellness programs, tracking personal health behaviors that can be

conceived to lead to burnout, and in some cases implementing a pass/fail grading system (Keith,

2018).

Conclusion

Burnout is a major healthcare issue and costs billions of dollars and can completely

diminish the physical, mental, and emotional health of an individual. It can lead to increased

medical errors and decreased patient satisfaction. Instilling over employee wellbeing from the

top of an organization can completely change the mindset of the work environment. Mental

health and well programs as well as instilling a work life balance can help to reduce burnout.
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References

 Bridgeman, P., Bridgeman, M., Barone, J. (2018). Burnout Syndrome among healthcare

professionals. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article/75/3/147/5102013

 Keith, T. (2018). Burnout in the United States Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6367114/

 Clark, M. (2019). The 5 Main Causes of Burnout in Healthcare. Retrieved from

https://etactics.com/blog/burnout-in-healthcare-causes

 Dyrbye, L., Shanafelt, T., Sinsky, C., Cipriano, P., Bhatt, J. et. al (2017). Burnout Among

Health Care Professionals: A Call to Explore and Address this Underrecognized Threat to

Safe, High- Quality Care. Retrieved from https://nam.edu/burnout-among-health-care-

professionals-a-call-to-explore-and-address-this-underrecognized-threat-to-safe-high-quality-

care/

 Bethea, A., Samanta, D., Kali, M., Lucente, F., and Richmond, B. (2020). The Impact of

Burnout Syndrome on Practitioners Working within Rural Healthcare Systems. Retrieved

from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675719304565

 Yates, S. (2020). Physician Stress and Burnout. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002934319307570