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    Well-being and Burnout

    Take charge of your well-being.

    An Urgent Issue for Psychiatrists and Medicine

    Burnout disproportionately affects the healthcare field, including physicians.
    $4.6 Billion
    lost in the U.S. healthcare system per year in burnout-related turnover and loss of clinical hours.4
    2 out of 5
    psychiatrists affected by professional burnout.
    46%
    of healthcare workers affected by burnout.5

    Addressing this problem has become one of the most pressing issues for medicine. APA is committed to helping psychiatrists achieve well-being and addressing individual and system-level challenges which contribute to professional burnout.

    cover of the fact sheet. all text in this image is repeated within this page

    Download the Factsheet

    Download a .pdf version of this page content, with additional content included on the following topics:

    • What is Depression?
    • Depression vs. Suicide
    • Burnout and Suicide
    • Stigma around Mental Health

    Download .PDF

    Mental Health Resources

    Learn how to address burnout and achieve better work-life balance.

    View More

    About APA's Efforts

    Learn about APA's Workgroup on Psychiatrist Well-being and Burnout.

    Learn More

    What is Burnout?

    Burnout is generally defined as a psychological syndrome and occupational phenomenon from chronic workplace stress that may result in the development of various reactions across three key dimensions (see right).

    Not addressing source of stress and/or reaction to stress has potential implications in the development of other mental health disorders including depression.

    Minoritized groups may be at an increased risk due occupational factors such as microaggressions, discrimination, poor inclusion or diversity practices in the workplace.

    Exhaustion: Changes in emotional and physical energy stores
    Negative & Cynical: Cynicism and detachment from work
    Ineffective at Work: Risk of reduced professional efficacy

    Warning Signs of Burnout

    • Persistent emotional and/or physical exhaustion even after rest
    • Negativism or cynicism towards the occupation
    • Changes in mood including low mood or irritability
    • Social withdrawal
    • Low morale
    • Feelings of inadequacy/helplessness and sense of failure or self-doubt
    • Decreased quality of work or reduced productivity or capability
    • Procrastination and difficulty completing tasks

    Interventions to Combat Burnout

    Several different interventions have been examined to reduce burnout in healthcare workers. Preventing, identifying, and intervening burnout improves outcomes for physicians and patients. Appropriate interventions can reduce burnout, improve quality of services provided to patients, and, ultimately, promote better patient safety outcomes. Burnout is a complex issue and, therefore, multidimensional approaches should be utilized to combat this problem.

    • Focus on system-level factors (time constraints, workload, offloading administrative burden, flexible schedules, etc.)
    • Improving communication skills
    • Work on strengthening connections with colleagues
    • Psychological interventions include mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and resilience training
    • Aligning personal and organizational values and enabling physicians to devote 20% of their work activities to the part of their medical practice that is especially meaningful to them11
    • Area of overlap can include burnout developing into depression and stigma associated with both

    APA Toolkit for Well-being Ambassadors

    Create change in your community. The APA Workgroup on Psychiatrist Well-Being and Burnout has created a PowerPoint slide deck template and a companion manual to help you advocate for systemic reform in your home institution or organization. The slide deck can be modified to match the needs of your organization as you spread awareness of physician burnout and assist your organization in addressing the wellness and burnout needs within your work community.

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