#STOP! Caregiver fatigue

Do you know a stressed-out nurse, doctor or healthcare administrator?

In my thirty-plus years of working as a consultant and advisor to employers on health benefits and wellness programs—primarily with large hospitals and health systems—I’ve noticed that most of the people I encounter have stress levels that are off the charts, particularly in the wake of healthcare reform. Many healthcare workers, such as doctors and nurses, are so busy taking care of patients and trying to keep up with technology and the heavy administrative burden of medicine that they do not take care of themselves.

Far too many people run from meeting to meeting, multitasking and dealing with distractions all day long. They wind up settling into existing. They are on autopilot, locked into habits that keep them from making changes that would bring them more of what they say they want out of life. Even worse, many healthcare workers are downright burnt out, boiling with frustration and suffering deep dissatisfaction with their careers. More than 1 million patients lose their medical doctors to suicide in this country along with a shocking number of medical students—a deeply disturbing fact that Pamela Wible, MD, tackled in her TEDMED talk http://bit.ly/WibleTEDMEDtalk in which she addressed the high-pressure, high-stress, and sometimes abusive culture and sleep deprivation prevalent throughout the industry. Why do you think so many medical school residents and doctors kill themselves?

Joy to you!

Eric Parmenter

Author of “STOP! 21 STOPs to Reduce Stress and Enhance Joy”

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