Improving patient care through improved caregiver support

From the long hours to the pain and blame of medical errors to growing concerns over rates of workplace violence, healthcare professionals see demands unlike those faced by any other industry. It’s no wonder that healthcare workers face high rates of burnout and extreme levels of stress. How high? A 2015 Gallup survey found that a whopping four out of five healthcare workers were “struggling” or “suffering,” versus thriving.

One challenge is that healthcare workers don’t often seek the help they need to keep working safely and productively. In fact, a study published in the November 2016 issue of General Hospital Psychiatry found that doctors are less likely to seek help for depression, anxiety, and other concerns than the patients they treat. This was attributed partially to stigma and partially to state requirements, which mandate physicians to report any mental diagnosis to their state medical licensing board. Such requirements, the study found, lead physicians to worry that seeking help for mental health issues could lead to restrictions on their medical license.

The study’s lead researcher and IHPI member, Katherine Gold, MD, MSW, MS, of the University of Michigan Medical School, encourages medical schools, hospitals, physician groups, and medical professional societies to do more to help trainees and physicians understand that mental health symptoms can occur in anyone, especially in the medical field where expectations are so high. She encourages these groups to offer confidential, third-party, nonpunitive options for physicians and other providers to seek help when they experience symptoms.