Burnout In Healthcare Professionals

Working in the healthcare field is a complex and, in many occasions, complicated task. Professionals work to maintain and improve people’s health, and this can be very stressful. Unfortunately, there is currently a high prevalence of burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow placed health at the base of his pyramid of needs, along with physiological needs such as sleeping, eating, breathing, etc. In addition, it also included physical security on the second rung of the pyramid, along with security needs.

Therefore, the importance of health for people is undeniable. Lacking it – or having the perception of lacking it – causes a lack of security and a sense of threat in people.

Causes of burnout in healthcare professionals

The hospital environment is a space in which situations with a very high emotional content occur. Both patients and family members can experience intense emotional reactions in which the healthcare professional may be involved.

In this sense, studies that analyze stressors in health professionals indicate that they are mainly the following:

• Working hours.
• Care for sick individuals who, in some cases, face crises.
• Feeling brought on by death.
• Demands from people who are not satisfied with the services received.

In addition, medical professionals also highlight the following points:

• Conveying bad news to people who are already in a “delicate” physical and emotional moment.
• High expectations on the part of patients in the healthcare professional.

• Working against time in stressful situations.
• Work overload.
• Lack of resources to provide optimal patient care.

It is also worth mentioning the interpersonal factors that are not specific to the health field. The most common are the reconciliation of professional and personal life and the relationships between professionals themselves.

For all that, it is necessary to have strategies to mitigate the stress that makes the work of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants and other professionals difficult.

Reduce burnout in healthcare professionals

Burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals generates:

• Professional dissatisfaction.
• Deterioration of the working environment.
• Reduced quality of work.
• Absenteeism.
• Abandonment of the profession.
• Adoption of passive-aggressive postures in patients.

To solve these situations, it would be necessary to make changes in strategies, work structures, methodologies, etc. However, the professional can also develop certain skills to reduce their occupational stress. We will explain the most important ones below.

Communication skills

A recent study on burnout in healthcare professionals investigated the influence of communication skills in this relationship. Their findings indicated that professionals who have good communication skills suffer less from emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, they feel more fulfilled at work.

Communication skills don’t just benefit the professional. They also influence the patient in a positive way. In fact, communication with the patient is an essential part of the care process. It provides security and therefore improves the quality of clinical practice.

The therapeutic relationship

Studies indicate that clinical outcomes improve when there is a better therapeutic relationship. This is explained by the following causes:

• Better diagnostic ability by knowing the patient’s psychosocial variables.
• Increased placebo effect.
• Greater adherence to treatment and diagnostic approaches.
• More realistic choices due to patient participation in decision making.

Emotional intelligence

There is a negative relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress. Most studies focus their analysis on nursing. Even so, the results can be extrapolated to other areas of the health area.

They indicate that the greater the training in emotional intelligence, the less stress and the greater the prevention of burnout.

One way to increase emotional intelligence is through developing emotion regulation. This is because psychology considers it a basic process of emotional intelligence. Through emotion regulation, we will be able to control and manage emotions in stressful situations.

In conclusion, it is undeniable that health professionals are frequently subjected to stressful situations. On many occasions, the professional cannot change the external factors that involve him individually; however, it can work on those internal variables that also act as stress modulators.