Burnout and Compassion Fatigue: How to Thrive Instead of Just Survive?

Course overview

Caring for others illnesses and health can be physically and mentally overwhelming, exhausting, and sometimes traumatizing. Between 35 and 54 percent of U.S. nurses and physicians already felt burned out before the pandemic, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Approximately 20% of healthcare workers, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, physicians and mental health care providers resigned since the pandemic, with nurses leading the exodus (30%). Still others wish they could afford to resign. Burnout was cited as the number one reason for resignations and desire to exit. Reasons for burnout include: being understaffed, compassion fatigue, lateral violence, secondary trauma, physical demands, insufficient support from employers and supervisors, and challenges with electronic health records (EHR) and other technologies. Additionally, most have experienced an increase in stressors outside of the job due to the pandemic, inflation, traumatizing news, etc. Finally, while most healthcare providers are great at taking care of others, most arent nearly as good at taking care of themselves. Hence, treating and preventing burnout must be addressed to save our healthcare system. Interventions can be addressed at three levels: 1) healthcare systems (e.g. hospitals, skilled nursing centers, dental offices, therapy centers, clinics), 2) clinical teams, and 3) individual healthcare providers. While this seminar will include interventions at all levels, the focus is on individual where we can have the greatest impact. Therefore, multiple coping strategies to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue will be presented. This includes addressing lateral violence, resiliency, emotion regulation, self-care and managing stress, anxiety, and worry. Many healthcare providers believe that they do not have time to relax or that their jobs are too stressful to be able to relax. Dr. Jennifer L. Abel, anxiety and worry expert, will explain how to utilize strategies that can be effective in as little as five minutes/day. She will explain how to manage stress even in very demanding situations. She will teach you multiple effective coping strategies that you can utilize without stopping your work flow. Some of these strategies will also help to conserve energy to manage fatigue. These strategies can be used for patients and clients, as well as all healthcare providers.