By Natalie Gildea, Archmere Academy
Table of Contents
Mental Illness in the Workplace
About
Mental Health for Emergency Healthcare Workers (MHEHW) is a national initiative that focuses on addressing burnout and mental illness for emergency physicians at all levels of influence. The program seeks to treat the entire person—it will offer services on the individual, community, and organizational (workplace) levels to provide a comprehensive approach to promoting mental well-being. MHEHW will continually be revised based on physicians’ needs and their work environments, supporting them through times of change or difficulty and cultivating a strong sense of value and achievement in work. MHEHW plans on creating a network of hospitals across the country to ease the overall stigma surrounding mental health in the emergency healthcare sector, working towards healthy solutions for all those involved in the field.
Burnout
Burnout is a work-related mental health condition, which often includes feelings of emotional exhaustion, a sense of isolation from others, and a decreased feeling of personal accomplishment in one’s work. This condition disproportionately affects the emergency healthcare sector, with about sixty-five percent of emergency medical providers experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of burnout (source). For healthcare workers, long shifts, inefficient work methods, and feeling out of control of their work can contribute to burnout and other symptoms of poor mental health.
The effects of burnout on healthcare professionals can lead to worsened patient care, according to a 2021 study, in addition to limiting physicians’ motivation and passion for work. A variety of interventions on various levels of influence have been proven to relieve burnout symptoms; these range from individual tactics, such as mindfulness training, to reorganization of the workplace. MHEHW seeks to encompass these solutions to create a comprehensive and effective program.
Mental Illness in the Workplace: Resources and Information for Healthcare Workers
Although the topic of mental illness may be a difficult one to discuss, removing the stigma is the first part of relieving its effects—a 2014 study showed that the stigma surrounding mental illness prevents many from receiving treatment, worsening people’s overall mental health over time.
Know when to reach out to a professional. If you are feeling irritated or angry, having difficulty sleeping, struggling to connect with others, or feeling constantly sad or anxious, seeking guidance from a professional is crucial to your well-being, both mentally and physically.
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have compiled lists of self-care tactics to use when feeling anxious or stressed at work.
To learn more or to seek help, consult these resources:
Massachusetts General – Mental Health Guide for Health Care Providers
National Alliance on Mental Illness – Health Care Professionals
Physician Support Line – Peer Mental Health Support
Interventions
A variety of interventions are available within MHEHW that will address the varied contributors to worsened mental health in emergency physicians and seek to provide promising solutions.
- Since physical health and mental health are often linked, MHEHW will offer fitness programs to enrich the well-being of the entire person.
- Building a support network is a crucial part of promoting mental health and limiting the depersonalization often experienced by healthcare workers. Through workplace events such as team bonding activities, MHEHW will seek to cultivate community.
- MHEHW will provide a team of counselors to each emergency center, allowing physicians to speak with someone they are familiar with when they are struggling.
- As one of the primary contributors to physician burnout, workplace stressors will be prevented through reorganization of resources by an MHEHW team. This strategy will limit the occurrence of burnout, fatigue, and other indicators of mental illness and develop a sense of value in the work that physicians do.
Data
As a research-backed program, MHEHW is committed to collecting and analyzing data pertaining to its intended effects and how it can better achieve them. As part of its initiative, a survey will be sent out to all those involved in MHEHW on a quarterly basis. Combining well-established mental health surveys with an individualized questionnaire, this survey plays a crucial role in ensuring that physicians can get the most out of participation in MHEHW while maintaining full control over their personal and mental health.
Additionally, the structure of its program takes its shape from previous positive tactics to improve mental health outcomes for medical workers, such as Virginia Mason Kirkland Medical Center’s 2019 redesign and study. Adjusted based on the specific causes of burnout and mental health needs of emergency physicians, MHEHW will continue to evolve based on the results and feedback it receives from existing resources and initiatives.