US Surgeon General Offers Steps to Address Healthcare Worker Burnout

May 25, 2022 - Healthcare stakeholders and policymakers must take action to address healthcare worker burnout or risk exacerbating the projected workforce shortage, a report from the United States Surgeon General detailed.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased burnout and stress among healthcare workers in every sector, including physicians, nurses, community and public health workers, and nurses. As these workers responded to a public health crisis, many saw their own mental health and well-being decline.

“The nation’s health depends on the well-being of our health workforce. Confronting the long-standing drivers of burnout among our health workers must be a top national priority,” US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in a press release. “COVID-19 has been a uniquely traumatic experience for the health workforce and for their families, pushing them past their breaking point. Now, we owe them a debt of gratitude and action. And if we fail to act, we will place our nation’s health at risk.”

In the Surgeon General’s Advisory Addressing Health Worker Burnout, Murthy outlined how employers and policymakers can improve healthcare worker well-being to avoid burnout and resignation, especially as the industry faces staffing shortages.

First, healthcare organizations should foster a workplace culture that empowers workers and is responsive to their voices, needs, and ideas on how to improve processes and workflows.

Organizations should also eliminate policies that penalize employers for seeking mental health and substance use disorder care. Employers should also make on-demand counseling and other services available during after-work hours to ensure staff members can easily access care.

Employers must make sure that staff members are healthy and safe while working. This includes protecting workers from workplace violence, ensuring they have enough personal protective equipment, and offering paid sick and family leave. In addition, providing living wages, rest breaks, educational debt support, and workload evaluations can help workers avoid burnout.

Workforce shortages have increased the workload of many healthcare employers, leading to rising levels of administrative burden and stress. Employers should ensure adequate staffing levels that meet the demand for patient care and avoid excessive workloads for employers.

Meeting adequate staffing levels may also help reduce the administrative burden and allow healthcare workers to have more time with patients, communities, and colleagues.

For every one hour of direct patient care, a primary care provider will spend two hours each day on administrative tasks, the report noted. Spending time with patients, working in the community, and building relationships with colleagues can help support the health and well-being of workers and patients alike.

Similarly, employers should prioritize social connection and community as core values of their workplace. Peer and team-based care models can help foster collaboration between staff members, protecting against loneliness and isolation. In turn, this job fulfillment could boost care quality for patients, the report said.

Finally, the Surgeon General’s advisory recommended that stakeholders invest in the public health workforce to help address social determinants of health and health inequities, combat health misinformation, and strengthen partnerships across clinical and community settings.

“At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and time and time again since, we’ve turned to our health workers to keep us safe, to comfort us, and to help us heal,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the press release. “We owe all health workers – from doctors to hospital custodial staff – an enormous debt.

“And as we can clearly see and hear throughout this Surgeon General’s Advisory, they’re telling us what our gratitude needs to look like: real support and systemic change that allows them to continue serving to the best of their abilities.”

The report cited data showing that the country may face a shortage of more than 3 million low-wage health workers in the five years. Additionally, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has projected a shortage of up to 139,000 physicians by 2033.

The nursing sector is likely to see substantial shortages as well. A report from Incredible Health revealed that burnout and stressful environments were pushing nurses to consider leaving their positions by the end of 2022.