Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Feelings of Decreased Personal Accomplishment Oh My: What Message Are We Sending To Our Students?
Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to address the issue of burnout amongst PTs through the lens that addressing this issue in our profession may very well be the first step in building resilience in the academic and clinical environments.Methods and/or Description of Project: Physical therapy student well-being is a priority for academic institutions. Yet, are we, as academic and clinical faculty, who are responsible for promoting student well-being, “well” ourselves? Could burnout of our academic and clinical faculty impact our student’s wellness? Burnout is a syndrome described as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of decreased personal accomplishment. All effects that can influence our own health, work environment, and relationship with others. During this session, we will review the literature regarding the prevalence of burnout amongst PTs and cite factors that may contribute to burnout. We will describe its effects on the health of the provider, atmosphere of the work environment, student instruction and well-being, and ultimately the quality of care received by our patients. Finally, drawing from current research, we will investigate solutions to mitigate burnout in academic and clinical faculty to promote wellness and resilience.Results/Outcomes: There is evidence PTs are experiencing a moderate level of burnout at an incidence that, in some cases, is higher than other healthcare professionals. Both job related stresses as well as intrinsic individual factors have been cited as contributing to burnout. This includes factors such as lack of communication and connectedness, diminished personal achievement, time constraints, lack of support from supervisors and colleagues, role conflict and ambiguity, and failure to utilize a task-related coping style. Results show that the effects of burnout can include decreased psychological, physical, and cognitive function, somatic and physical arousal, decreased immunity, morale, and productivity, absenteeism, job turnover, and alcohol and drug abuse. Further, those experiencing burnout develop a negative self-concept, have a poor attitude towards their job including a loss of concern for their patients, co-workers, and themselves. Solutions to alleviate burnout and promote well-being in physical therapists include the use of social network analysis, teamwork, communication, leadership, professional identity programs, targeted work unit interventions, use of rewards and incentives, flexibility and work life integration, and self-care.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: As academic and clinical faculty, we are in a position to have a major impact on our students. If we want to promote resilience and well-being in our students, it is important that we ourselves are not experiencing burnout and are role-modeling strategies that promote resilience. The effects of burnout are significant and will not only take their toll on our own health but also can influence our relationships with our students. It is important that when building resilience in the academic and clinical environments, we address the needs of both the faculty and the students.References: 1. Cunningham, FC. (2012). Health professional networks as a vector for improving healthcare quality and safety: a systematic review. BMJ quality & safety. 21(3):239-249. 2. Fischer, M., Mitsche, M., Endler, P., Mesenholl-Strehler, E., Lothaller, H., & Roth, R. (2013). Burnout in physiotherapists: Use of clinical supervision and desire for emotional closeness or distance to clients. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 20(11), 550-558. 3. Pustulka-Piwnik, U., Ryn, Z. J., Krzywoszanski, L., & Stozek, J. (2014). Burnout syndrome in physical therapists - demographic and organizational factors. Medycyna Pracy, 65(4), 453-462. 4. Shanafelt, T. D., & Noseworthy, J. H. (2017). Executive leadership and physician well-being: Nine organizational strategies to promote engagement and reduce burnout. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(1), 129-146. doi:S0025-6196(16)30625-5 [pii] 5. Sklar, D. P. (2016). Fostering student, resident, and faculty wellness to produce healthy doctors and a healthy population. Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 91(9), 1185-1188. 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001298 [doi]Course Objectives: Upon completion of this session, learners will be able to: 1. Summarize the prevalence of burnout amongst physical therapists. 2. Describe the impact of clinician burnout on the atmosphere of the work environment, individual well-being, student instruction and patient care. 3. Discuss the factors contributing to burnout in physical therapists. 4. Outline solutions to alleviate burnout and promote well-being in physical therapists.Instructional Methods: Lecture Small Group Discussion Question and AnswerTentative Outline/Schedule: 15 minutes: Each speaker will first share their interest in burnout from their various roles as faculty members, a DCE, an administrator, researchers, and clinicians. We will focus on defining burnout and contrasting this with other terms that many times are used interchangeably. Professional burnout will be thoroughly described: a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. We will link the importance of academic and clinical faculty well-being and student well-being. Assessment of baseline knowledge (anonymous) on the topic utilizing an audience response tool will be utilized. 15 minutes: Section two will focus on summarizing the evidence that is currently available related to burnout amongst physical therapists. This will include a comparison of current studies on PT burnout to other health care professions and review gaps in the literature where future scholarly work could be valuable. 25 minutes: In the third section of this session we will describe the impact of clinician burnout on the atmosphere of the work environment, individual well-being, student instruction, and patient care. We will discuss the decreased psychological, physical, and cognitive function, somatic and physical arousal, decreased immunity, morale, and productivity, absenteeism, job turnover, and alcohol and drug abuse. We will also review how individuals with burnout develop a negative self-concept, have a poor attitude towards their job including a loss of concern for their patients, co-workers, and themselves. Then we will cover factors contributing to burnout in physical therapists. This complex issue will be examined at the individual, organizational, and societal level. 25 minutes: During the fourth section of our session, we will propose solutions to alleviate burnout and promote well-being in physical therapists. Throughout this section we will draw upon literature specific to PT but also from other professions. One innovative solution uses social network analysis as a comprehensive assessment of the network such as friends, colleagues, and administrators. Other strategies such as teamwork, communication, leadership, professional identity programs, targeted work unit interventions, use of rewards and incentives, flexibility and work life integration, and self-care will be presented. 10 minutes: Questions/Answers/Sharing. Repeat the audience participation (anonymous) assessment of knowledge on the topic utilizing an audience response tool.