Our CPD article Burnout risks in healthcare emphasises how burnout within healthcare not only poses a major threat to individual health but can also threaten job performance.
Moreover, occupational health professionals also play a pivotal role in managing and mitigating burnout within healthcare. The following activities, created by Professor Anne Harriss, will allow you to explore this area further.
Activity 1
Read the Royal College of Nursing’s Parliamentary submission: Workforce Burnout and Resilience in the NHS and Social Care and reflect on the connections with the next activities including the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee (Activity 2).
Activity 2
The scale and impact of workforce burnout in the NHS and social care sectors is detailed in the Commons Health and Social Care Committee document, Workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care. Second Report of Session 2021-22.
This is useful additional reading, as it highlights the impact of workplace culture including bullying and unprofessional behaviours and the importance of compassionate leadership.
Activity 3
Familiarise yourself with the Society of Occupational Medicine’s review Burnout in healthcare: risk factors and solutions then consider how it resonates within the other CPD activities.
Activity 4
The Society of Occupational Medicine’s systematic review, The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives indicates that the work undertaken by nurses and midwives can result in work related stress and burnout.
Indeed, burnout is a recurring theme within the review. Reflect on the contents of this review in the light of the SOM review on burnout (Activity 3).
Activity 5
Read the Maben et al (2022) article: ‘You can’t walk through water without getting wet’: UK nurses’ distress and psychological health needs during the Covid-19 pandemic a longitudinal interview study’
Reflect on the impact of the work of nurses on their mental health and how it fits with the findings and 45 recommendations encompassed within the SOM systematic review of the Mental health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, as highlighted in Activity 4.
Activity 6
The Edu-Valssani et al (2022) publication Burnout: A Review of Theory and Measurement highlights factors that can trigger burnout and the individual factors that have been proposed to reduce it.
Read the article, then reflect on lessons for OH professionals and how it might influence your own OH practice.
Activity 7
Greenberg et al (2020) refer to burnout and moral injury within their article Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic.
Read their article, then consider how their assertions fit with the previous activities.
Activity 8
Refer to these further resources:
NHS Employers
Call for new strategy to tackle staff burnout
ACAS website
Managing work-related stress
IOSH
Burnout at work – how to prevent, recover and overcome
Mind
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