Solving the Healthcare Worker Crisis: Addressing Burnout

Burnout is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon associated with poor psychological functioning that negatively impacts both work performance and interpersonal relationships. While burnout can occur in any occupational setting, recent research has been increasingly focused on healthcare workers. The ever-increasing demands on care providers and a lack of mediating tactics have led to staggering levels of reported burnout among nurses and physicians. Thus, physicians and nurses are leaving their professions, retiring early, and struggling to meet the demands that their workplaces and patients require. Though employers have struggled to fill positions in healthcare, there is no shortage of healthcare workers to fill these positions. Healthcare organizations are ignoring the call for evidenced-based solutions to burnout. The following literature review thoroughly investigates this dilemma and proposes an evidence-based intervention with promising research to date.