Burnout Healthcare Workers

Years of working as a Registered Nurse have given me a good understanding of the stress that nurses, doctors and other health professionals are under. The long hours, the constant pressure to work overtime due to staff shortages, and the physical exhaustion and body clock confusion from constant shift rotations.

Although there are many rewards to working as a healthcare professional, it can be a tough job. Each day brings challenges such as caring for critically ill patients, performing skilled medical procedures, managing emergencies, juggling overwhelming caseloads, dealing with people’s fears and anxieties, and breaking bad news. These are not easy tasks, even for experienced clinicians, and the work can be confronting, highly stressful and emotionally draining. With chronic exposure to this level of stress, and without adequate self-care and support, the job can lead to burnout and compassion fatigue, something that I remain very aware of as a psychologist.

For many years now, healthcare workers have been working under increasingly challenging conditions, with healthcare systems understaffed, overburdened, and underfunded. However, the global public health crisis caused by COVID-19 left healthcare workers even more exposed to physical and mental exhaustion. The job has become increasingly tougher and professional burnout is on the rise.

Symptoms of burnout can include exhaustion, frequent sickness and headaches, anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance, mood swings, depression, pessimism, a diminished sense of confidence and control, detachment, cynicism, a reduced sense of achievement, and feeling unappreciated and disillusioned.

If you’re a healthcare worker and this sounds like you, your job could be placing undue stress on your mental health. As burnout increases, the capacity for empathy decreases, making it difficult for you to do your job properly. Without support, this can lead to unhealthy coping strategies, and may even lead to physical health issues such as high blood pressure. It may be time to consider therapy to increase self-understanding, build resilience and relieve stress. Mindfulness and self-compassion-based skills training may help, plus support to establish boundaries and a better work-life balance.

Are you a healthcare worker looking for support?