Editor’s note: In this story, Chief Quality Officer and Vice President Bert Thurlow-Walsh, R.N., responds to a question about what his organization, Milford Regional Medical Center in Massachusetts, is doing to improve employees’ experiences, address burnout and grow the workforce. Milford’s holistic approach to addressing issues means that Thurlow-Walsh collaborates with other leaders at the hospital […]
Patient engagement relies on having a robust healthcare workforce — sufficient numbers of clinicians and staff members supported by organizations and society and provided with the training, equipment and environments they need to do their best work. Current challenges — burnout, understaffing, and other ongoing stresses made worse by the pandemic — are sapping the […]
Concern for the mental and physical well-being of people who work in healthcare predates the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and has perhaps come to a head this summer. Although fewer COVID-19 patients need acute-level care than earlier in the pandemic, hospitals remain full and most are understaffed. The effects of long-term disruption and uncertainty are widespread. The […]
It’s clear that many healthcare workers are feeling worn out, burned out, anxious and even angry. There is good reporting about the problem, which includes a critical shortage of nurses, and some organizations offer programs designed to help address the symptoms. But in the short term, there is very little that can be done to […]
“I get tired. I get overwhelmed. I get discouraged. I get disengaged. I get disheartened.”* I recently stumbled onto a series of posts online written by dedicated, accomplished patient advocates (including the one quoted above) describing their frustrations and, in some cases, their withdrawal from activism. In today’s shorthand, we’d say they’re suffering from burnout. […]