Psychological Effects of Working in Healthcare

  While working in healthcare can be an extremely rewarding profession, it also comes with a great deal of difficulty both physically and mentally. It is no secret that burnout is becoming more prevalent in healthcare workers which has just been accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is also important to note that these fl aws of the system were occurring before the pandemic happened, the pandemic just brought these issues more to light and amplified them.  

       Burnout can be described as overwhelming exhaustion and feeling depleted in one's physical and emotional resources which can lead to cynicism and detachment from the job. Burnout may be caused by overworking, feeling a lack of support, and/or compassion fatigue, and chronic stress which can lead to a number of physiological problems such as high blood pressure and impaired memory. In addition to burnout, a less talked about psychological impact on healthcare workers is secondary traumatic stress which can be amplified by burnout. STS is considered a stressor for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and occurs through an ongoing or cumulative exposure of triggering or traumatic events, such as taking care of trauma patients, witnessing many patient deaths, etc, Overtime, secondary traumatization can occur and create a permanent and cumulative change of perception on empathetic work. 

        When taking care of others, it is easy to forget about the fragility of one’s own well-being, especially when there is pressure to perform at an elevated level. Emotions get pushed down in order to complete the job, but then never get revisited after the day or job is complete. In order to promote mental well-being it is important that hospitals incorporate avenues for healthcare professionals to have access to therapy and support groups. Social and peer support groups are an easy and low-cost way to offer support and have proven to have a major effect on prevention and relief from the impact of trauma. Other ways to support healthcare professionals include offering seminars on mental health and preparation for traumatic events and promoting a healthy work-life balance in all employees while keeping in mind that experiencing a traumatic event on the job can happen to all healthcare professionals, not just those on the front-line.  

    

 

Devilly, G. J., Wright, R., & Varker, T. (2009). Vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress or simply burnout? Effect of trauma therapy on mental health professionals. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 43(4), 373-385. 

Raudenská, J., Steinerová, V., Javůrková, A., Urits, I., Kaye, A. D., Viswanath, O., & Varrassi, G. (2020). Occupational burnout syndrome and post-traumatic stress among healthcare professionals during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology, 34(3), 553-560.