People in healthcare have a difficult job. Often, their duties include long hours and challenging conditions.
When you seek medical care, you expect that the people on your medical team will be ready to give you the care and attention you need. However, challenging conditions can leave healthcare workers overtired and apathetic when they show up for duty.
Here’s what you should know about the link between healthcare worker burnout and decreased quality of care.
What leads to burnout?
Healthcare work typically requires a specific type of person. Providing medical care means supporting people at their worst, which can become exhausting.
Often, healthcare workers start excited and passionate about their job. However, as the long hours add up and the challenging patients become more complicated, they often begin to suffer from compassion fatigue and cynicism.
Burnout and mistakes
As worker passion erodes, so does attentiveness to the job. Healthcare workers with burnout tend to pay less attention to the details and operate more or less on autopilot.
When healthcare workers become less attentive, they may not notice changes in a patient’s status or needs for a change in a care plan. Additionally, a jaded healthcare worker may be less likely to fulfill patient requests or pass on information about a new concern.
Being an advocate
As a patient, it is essential to be able to advocate for yourself. If you notice a member of your medical team is not being attentive to your concern, you may need to talk to another member of your team. Remember, it is ok to speak up about your concerns so that you can receive quality care.
