Burnout in Occupational Therapy Practice

Course overview

Burnout and other issues facing healthcare clinicians were magnified and exacerbated as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which brought about lengthier shifts, anxiety surrounding population and provider well-being, unsafe working conditions, and poor staff support. Furthermore, the majority of healthcare professionals were thrust into telehealth: a new and relatively unknown method of service delivery that brought about its own set of challenges. The result was a drastic shift in work-life balance for all healthcare providers (and much of the population) that brought much more attention to an already burgeoning issue. Now, there is more research being done not only to investigate the causes of burnout, but to find long-lasting solutions that work on the individual and organizational levels to help therapists. This is not an easy undertaking but anyone striving to address occupational therapy burnout should be aware of what it looks like, the factors that contribute to its development, and how to prevent it from worsening. One of the major concerns related to therapist burnout is its impact on patient care, both in terms of the quality and quantity that providers offer. But solutions should equally consider and aim to ameliorate therapist mental and physical health, since burnout takes a significant toll in those areas.