Health-care system causing rampant burnout among doctors, nurses

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Health-care system causing rampant burnout among doctors, nurses

As many as half of all clinicians suffer from the problem, creating risks to patients, malpractice claims and absenteeism, study finds.

Imagine a health-care system in which doctors and nurses are so exhausted and beaten down that many of them work like zombies — error-prone, apathetic toward patients and at times trying to blunt their own pain with alcohol or even suicide attempts.

That is what America’s broken health care system is doing to its health workers, according to a 312-page report released Wednesday by the National Academy of Medicine, one of the country’s most prestigious medical institutions.

The report found that as many as half of the country’s doctors and nurses experience substantial symptoms of burnout, resulting in increased risks to patients, malpractice claims, worker absenteeism and turnover, as well as billions of dollars in losses to the medical industry each year.

“It’s a moral issue, a patient-care issue and a financial issue,” said Christine K. Cassel, professor of medicine at University of California at San Francisco, who co-chaired the committee of experts that wrote the report.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

This article didn't even mention the upswing in suicides among MD's and RN's, but I'm sure we will need a 100 studies from the German Institute of the Patently Obvious before anyone will do anything. With us aging boomers, the rubber and met the road. Electronic charting has separated us from the humanity of our work ...our care has been reduced to putting little X's in the boxes.

[JKL33]

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The report found that as many as half of the country’s doctors and nurses experience substantial symptoms of burnout, resulting in increased risks to patients, malpractice claims, worker absenteeism and turnover, as well as billions of dollars in losses to the medical industry each year.

Some major players involved in this report, including some who arguably have made a career out of not exactly representing what/whom they say they do.

Things that are moral issues never become moral issues after someone calculates the financial effects. Rather, the factors that have led to despair were present on day 1 when people were enthusiastically promoting the ideas that have led us to where we are.

I will wait until I can access the actual report through my library instead of paying $75/$84 to read how/why workers' completely foreseeable "burnout" is causing problems for movers and shakers.

[Megarline, CNA]

On 10/26/2019 at 6:37 AM, JKL33 said:

Some major players involved in this report, including some who arguably have made a career out of not exactly representing what/whom they say they do.

Things that are moral issues never become moral issues after someone calculates the financial effects. Rather, the factors that have led to despair were present on day 1 when people were enthusiastically promoting the ideas that have led us to where we are.

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I will wait until I can access the actual report through my library instead of paying $75/$84 to read how/why workers' completely foreseeable "burnout" is causing problems for movers and shakers.

When you're not in position to shake, don't try to shake or you're out! People, some are dishonest and actually royally unethical then justify it as "...."?

[Rionoir, ADN, RN]

Government causing something to be inefficient? That’s shocking, usually government is... oh no wait that makes perfect sense.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

This is a blanket statement. Very smart people are all over the place in government. People get their social security checks on time and my MD has always been paid because I see the statements that the GOVERNMENT sends to me that ensures no hanky spanky. Do we want corporations beholden to shareholders responsible for the institutions that are monitored by the government. Would you want your kid in a a school beholden to shareholders? A cheap swipe at an easy target.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I believe when we use the term "burn out" we are blaming the victims. This is moral distress, as ZDogg says.