Each month at Ability Partners, our hard-working Occupational Therapists gather to present, analyse and discuss different journal articles. Most recently, the group talked about the prevalence and management of fatigue and burnout among allied health professionals.
They recently covered the following two journals:
Shin, J., McCarthy, M., Schmidt, C., Zellner, J., Ellerman, K., Britton, M. (2022). Prevalence and predictors of burnout among occupational therapy practitioners in the United States. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(4), 1-8, https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2022.048108
Hogan, L.M., Carlstedt, A.B., Wagman, P. (2023). Occupational therapy and stress-related exhaustion – a scoping review. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 30(7), 1047-1063. https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2023.2207802
From their discussion, there were four key points that stood out regarding the management of fatigue and burnout and how this is crucial to ensure an effective work life balance.
- Understanding the factors contributing to burnout in health care practitioners.
- Workplace factors – high workload, lack of supervisor support, role confusion/overlap, and results in pressure.
- Educational Factors – higher educational attainment, autonomy and skillset, and income satisfaction.
- Individual factors – mentally disengaging from work, the ability to say no, profession under recognition, emotional demands, and lack of respect.
- The impact of burnout on healthcare quality and workforce retention.
- Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS)
- Emotional exhaustion – the survey reveals that participants felt emotionally exhausted a few times per month, on average.
- Depersonalisation – the survey reveals that participants felt a sense of depersonalisation between a few times per year and once per month, on average.
- Personal accomplishment – the survey reveals that participants felt a sense of personal accomplishment a few times per week, on average.
- Some of the protective factors against burnout in the workplace.
- Supervisor support – guidance, encouragement, open communication, and positive work culture.
- Income satisfaction – greater sense of fulfilment, feeling valued, and increases job satisfaction.
- Educational attainment – access to a wider range of job opportunities, increased autonomy and confidence in skillset.
- Individual strategies for preventing and managing burnout and ensuring an effective work life balance.
- Everyone will have their own unique experience with burn out.
- It is up to each individual to determine what strategies work for them and implement them into their routine to help themselves.
- Preventative > remediation.
- Mental detachment from work and meaningful leisure activities are very important!
At Ability Partners, we work in partnership with you to achieve goals that really matter. We deliver evidence-based practice and work with you as a team. If you feel you are struggling with your management of fatigue and burnout, we offer a variety of psychological services that can assist you. Click here to find out more or click below to contact us.
