Addressing health care workers’ trauma can help fight burnout By Sadie ElisseouMay 23, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/23/health-care-workers-trauma-fighting-burnout/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--yL4Zw8IUigrWCYpy2hu3fnzhdnDT0zUXRSOAMjG0ouIm2JslNhypl6mPmAIZe3OZ5qYw-0QBZJUiamNTIA8uK2vtHcw&_hsmi=308341219&utm_content=308341219&utm_source=hs_email In health care, trauma is an occupational hazard. Medical professionals witness pain, suffering, injustice, and death, in addition to microaggressions, workplace violence, and moral injury. But for some people, these professional stressors are piled on top of challenging life events, including adverse childhood experiences, primary care physician Sadie Elisseou writes in a First Opinion. Such a history increases the risk of burnout, analogous to the greater risk of PTSD in veterans who have seen combat. “So far, no single framework has been successful in offering a comprehensive strategy to shield health care workers, and the systems they work in, from burnout,” Elisseou says. “Adopting a trauma-informed approach may have a transformative impact on anti-burnout solutions, redirecting the course of the health care crisis.” Read what that recognition and response can entail.