(Photo: Shutterstock)
The U.S. is facing high levels of burnout among health care workers, which could lead to serious shortcomings in patient care, a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General has found.
Burnout among health care workers was a serious problem even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the stress caused by the ongoing pandemic has made things much worse, said Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
"The pandemic has accelerated the mental health and burnout crisis that is now affecting not only health workers, but the communities they serve," Murthy said.
"Already, Americans are feeling the impact of staffing shortages across the health system in hospitals, primary care clinics, and public health departments. As the burnout and mental health crisis among health workers worsens, this will affect the public's ability to get routine preventive care, emergency care, and medical procedures. It will make it harder for our nation to ensure we are ready for the next public health emergency. Health disparities will worsen as those who have always been marginalized suffer more in a world where care is scarce. Costs will continue to rise."
Growing labor shortage
The report from the Surgeon General and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) noted that multiple studies have documented a growing shortage of health care workers. Federal researchers say the current health system has a shortage of 1.1 million registered nurses, and Mercer Health Care Market Analysis projected a national shortage of more than three million low-wage health workers within three years. These workers are predominantly women of color and caregivers such as nursing home workers, or nursing or medical assistants in other health care settings.
"The Association of American Medical Colleges projected in 2020 that physician demand will continue to grow faster than supply, leading to a shortage of between 54,100 and 139,000 physicians by 2033, with the most alarming gaps in primary care and rural communities," the report said.
Lingering pandemic
The report comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to mutate into different variants, which are resulting in continuing high levels of infection. The relatively large number of previously-infected and vaccinated Americans means that such infections are not as deadly as in past waves, but hospital and health care workers continue to see higher workloads because of ongoing infections.
The report calls for several steps to address the burdens on health care workers. These include:
- Protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all health workers by ensuring they have proper equipment, training, and are protected against workplace violence.
- Eliminating punitive policies for seeking mental health and substance abuse care.
- Reducing administrative and documentation burdens and improving health information technology and payment models.
- Prioritizing health worker well-being on an organizational level—this includes providing competitive wages, paid sick and family leave, rest breaks, educational debt support, and other steps to ease the burden on health workers.
"Health workers are the pillars of our collective health and well-being, and therefore should be valued and respected by their organizations and society," the study said.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.