APA President Dr. Vivian B. Pender and APA CEO and Medical Director Dr. Saul Levin Discuss the Need to Focus on Professional Burnout among Health Care Professionals.
Well-being and Burnout Handout: https://www.psychiatry.org/File Library/Psychiatrists/Practice/Well-being-and-Burnout/APA-Well-being-and-Burnout-Handout-Flyer.pdf
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Even before COVID-19, health care workers were experiencing high rates of professional burnout, with nearly 50% of all physicians experiencing it. The multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have added enormous pressure for many health care workers. A survey of health care workers earlier this year found that younger frontline health care workers seem to be the hardest hit, more than two-thirds (69%) said they feel “burned out.”
Burnout and mental health issues can overlap. Nearly half of the health care workers reported serious psychiatric symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study in Psychiatric Services.
APA President Vivian Pender, M.D., advised health care workers directly: “If you are feeling the effects of burnout, talk about it with friends, colleagues and loved ones, and please, seek treatment if you need it. It is never selfish to prioritize your health & well-being.”
“The American Psychiatric Association is helping our health care workforce protect their well-being and to fix the systemic problems which contribute to professional burnout,” added APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “We know the system won’t change overnight, but we are committed to working toward positive change for health care workers.”
APA’s Committee on Psychiatrist Well-being and Burnout has developed a collection of resources to help support psychiatrists and other health care workers. Earlier this year, the APA Committee on Disaster Psychiatry also developed a guidance document on physician wellness through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters.
Addressing burnout will require actions on several levels from the health care system, to individual clinics and departments to individuals.
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