Addressing Staff Burnout in Healthcare: Essential Solutions

The healthcare profession has long been known as one of the most demanding and stressful fields to work in. Healthcare professionals dedicate themselves to the work, but that commitment comes at a cost—burnout.

Below, we'll look into the primary contributors to employees getting burned out in the healthcare industry. And you'll also get four attainable solutions to address the issue and improve staff wellness.

» Prevent staff burnout by reducing administrative burden in healthcare

How Prevalent is Staff Burnout in Healthcare?

Burnout has always been a concern in healthcare, but it had the biggest impact in the arrival and aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Research at the beginning of the outbreak found that one in three physicians felt mentally and physically exhausted. [1]

But it didn't account for every profession. That's why Dr. Lisa Rotenstein et al. (2023) set out to identify actionable predictors of all healthcare workers—not only physicians. [2]

Here's what they found:

• Nurses were the hardest hit, with 56% experiencing burnout.
• Other clinical staff—excluding physicians and nurses—were right on their heels, with 54.1% experiencing burnout.
• Healthcare workers across all roles had intended to quit their jobs because of the exhaustion. Work overload was a strong predictor of burnout and intent to leave.
• Staffing shortages due to burnout and turnover can significantly affect the daily functioning of the healthcare system.

» Check out what hospitals can do to prevent burnout

4 Healthcare Burnout Solutions

1. Invest in Knowledge Management Systems

As we've mentioned, work overload is a strong predictor of burnout and intent to leave. The administrative burden is a major contributor. S.K. Rao et al. (2017) found that physicians spend 24% of working hours doing paperwork on average. [3]

The sheer amount of administrative work can be a nightmare to manage at scale. Rules and regulations also change often and affect every part of the process. That's why effective knowledge management systems can play a crucial role in reducing the burden on staff.

C8 Health eliminates the data siloes. Your staff no longer needs to navigate multiple systems to find what they're looking for on their cell phones. Our team will upload all your organizational guidelines onto the platform. Plus, ongoing content management is easy and intuitive—no training is required.

You get a cloud platform that does not host PHI, so your hospital does not need IT resources for deployment.

The Natural Language Querying System also makes it possible for employees to quickly find what they need to know without breaking their workflow. The AI Assistant is always at their disposal, and they can ask it a question, just like they would ask a colleague.

2. Invest in Continuous Education

Continuous education plays a vital role in combating burnout without increasing costs. Studies show healthcare professionals can feel more engaged and satisfied in their work when they can develop their skills. [4]

The COVID-19 pandemic sped up the adoption of digital learning for healthcare professionals. A study comparing pre- and intra-pandemic activities in a large, international health system found a significant increase in internet-based learning. [5]

These virtual activities effectively replaced canceled in-person events, reaching a larger audience and delivering comparable learning outcomes. The ACME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) in the US has seen a record-high number of physicians and other healthcare professionals participating in continuing education programs. [6]

Physicians should spend part of their working time on professional development instead of sacrificing their leisure time. Why? An empowered CME program can contribute to initiatives focused on both clinical and nonclinical areas, such as quality and safety, professionalism, and team collaboration and communication.

» Find out how to train your staff with cloud-based platforms

3. Improved Work-Life Balance

Healthcare institutions must encourage work-life balance through flexible scheduling. Staff should have time for breaks and allow for sick days without jeopardizing patient care. Having backup systems or pools of available personnel can alleviate the burden on individual providers.

One major contributor to burnout in healthcare is the lack of control over one's daily schedule. The healthcare system often prioritizes seeing as many patients as possible, leaving little room for personal time or flexibility.

As a result, this sentiment goes hand in hand with work overload, which can double—or even triple the risk of burnout in some cases. [7] Being exposed to this kind of strain for too long can lead to chronic stress, which may result in silent quitting. [8] The resulting high turnover rates create staffing shortages that restart the whole process.

» Explore various ways to improve staff wellness

The Impact of Staff Burnout on Patient Care

Staff burnout in healthcare doesn't just affect the professionals themselves. It has a direct impact on the quality of patient care and safety.

Reduced Training and Mentorship

Healthcare professionals often take on multiple roles where the primary focus revolves around patient and clinical care. As a result, they may not have time to dedicate to other responsibilities, including training junior physicians.

This may hurt hospitals and patient care in the long term as future doctors have less experience and exposure and might not invest in training peers themselves, creating a cycle.

» Discover the best training methods for healthcare employees

Decreased Performance

Fatigue and burnout can significantly impact a healthcare professional's performance. An MDU survey found that 26% of doctors said tiredness had impaired their ability to treat patients. [10]

This means patients seen later in the day or by exhausted physicians may receive a different level of care than those seen during the peak hours.

» Boost your wellness initiatives via seamless communication channels

Minimal Time and Attention

When healthcare professionals are overwhelmed, they may resort to doing the minimum required to get through the day, compromising patient care. [11] This can lead to rushed decisions and errors that put patient safety at risk and result in negative outcomes. [12]

The issue is especially relevant to nurses—who have close, daily contact with patients—to the extent that up to 50% of patient safety incidents are because of errors in nursing care. [13]

» Learn how to share content in nursing effectively

Making Healthcare Sustainable

Staff burnout is a pressing issue in healthcare that not only affects the well-being of professionals but also compromises patient care and safety.

By implementing these and other solutions, we can take significant steps towards addressing burnout and creating a healthier, more sustainable healthcare system for both patients and practitioners.

» Invest in continuous learning with a knowledge management system