Flexible Clinical Work: Fostering Growth and Burnout Prevention
By Mona Bapat, PhD, HSPP
As a clinician, you are undoubtedly familiar with burnout, whether it is juggling family and work, being overwhelmed with documentation, and/or facing a day with back-to-back patients on low energy. Such struggles make time for reflection or personal cultivation feel like a luxury. However, it is not a luxury, it is vital for professional growth and delivering quality care.
The key to “treating” burnout is, in fact, a system focused on preventing it by controlling work stressors. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is increasingly strained and one reason for this is a steady increase in physician turnover. What’s more, the healthcare field is struggling to recruit a younger generation of clinicians due to low salaries in comparison to working conditions that include inflexible schedules, increased clinical hours, and less time for documentation.
Empowering providers is a central part of our mission because they, YOU, do the monumental work of serving patients. We understand that you should have workplace support to help prevent burnout. This is why flexible scheduling, and other resources like peer mentorship and administrative support, form the core of our business practices.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a ubiquitous term but if you take a moment to think about it, what does it mean to you? And how might you distinguish it from something like depression or anxiety?
Burnout versus Mental Health Conditions
While aspects of burnout and mental health conditions like anxiety or depression can overlap, there is a difference between the two. Burnout is specifically an occupational phenomenon whereas a mental health condition like major depression or generalized anxiety can impact satisfaction in other life domains as well, like social and familial.
Stressors are a part of life; there will always be interpersonal conflict, unexpected challenges, and bills to pay. Someone without a mental health condition, or one that is well-controlled with effective treatment, can cope with such life stressors while experiencing well-being. However, uncontrolled mental health symptoms can mean that no matter the stressor or circumstance, the person is unable to cope in an adaptive way.
Burnout, however, occurs when work demands exceed resources to meet them. This can lead to psychological distress and reduced productivity.
Signs of Burnout
Burnout is a psychological response to work stressors. It happens when chronic demands outweigh the ability to cope. Signs of burnout can vary from person to person. If other mental health conditions are ruled out or controlled, burnout can manifest as any, or a combination of, the following:
Irritability
Sleep impairment
Fatigue
Impaired executive functioning
Poor concentration, attention, or memory
Cynicism
Emotional exhaustion
Helplessness or powerlessness
Mental distress
Researchers have found certain risk factors that increase chances of experiencing burnout.
Risk Factors for Burnout
Burnout risk factors are present at both the individual and workplace levels. Individual risk factors can include:
Perfectionistic tendencies
Lack of congruence between work and personal values
Lack of self-esteem or self-confidence
Inability to say “no”
Psychological distress or mental health conditions
Lack of sleep, exercise, or healthy diet
Self-care is the buzz word these days. While it is important for our health and performance, it is also often implied that self-care is the answer for treating burnout. However, while a vacation or a massage gives needed rest and rejuvination, the same work environment and demands are waiting for us after those moments of respite are over.
Work environment risk factors for burnout can include:
Back-to-back patients with no breaks
Lack of business hours for documentation
Difficulty in taking time off
High levels of uncertainty
Lack of professional support or growth opportunities
Higher work demands
Isolation on the job or lack of consultation opportunities
The good news is, there are ways to decrease the risk for burnout at both the individual and workplace levels.
Alleviating Factors for Burnout
As you are probably thinking, protective factors for reducing the risk of burnout are essentially the opposite of those listed in the previous section. Individual protective factors can include:
Work that is congruent with personal values
High self-esteem and self-confidence
Ability to enforce boundaries
Striving for excellence, not perfection
Strong self-care
Balance between work and personal needs is necessary on a daily basis as opposed to working until burnout, taking a break, working until burnout again, and so on. Furthermore, workplace support for this balance is one of the most salient ways to sustain morale, productivity, satisfaction, and quality service.
Protective factors against burnout at the workplace level can include:
Peer support networks
Flexible scheduling
Telehealth
While some onus is on you to manage aspects of work and life that are within your control, changes to the core of workplace culture are often needed to help you succeed and thrive.
At Empower, We Have:
Flexible Scheduling
We give our clinicians the autonomy to establish their work schedules on a monthly basis. We do this because 1) we value putting providers first and 2), we make research-informed decisions. As one study found, compared to those with standard schedules, clinicians with flexible schedules were more likely to report a greater ability to control their workloads and experience reduced stress.
Telehealth
We also allow our providers on a monthly basis to include days and times they are available for telehealth versus in-person visits. We want you to establish the nature of your work and your schedule in a way that allows you to balance all aspects of your life.
Peer Support
We also give our providers peer support. Empower has a team of mentors whom you can consult regarding clinical work and documentation.
Administrative Support
Further, we have staff who handle administrative tasks such as logistics and sending appointment reminders to patients. As a result, you can focus on the clinical work you were trained to do.
We Want to See You Thrive
We believe that happy and thriving clinicians are what make this business successful. We strive to support you with what you need so that you can focus on providing class A service while growing personally and professionally.
