More than half of dialysis technicians report burnout
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- About one-third of respondents reported professional fulfillment.
- Strategies to improve morale are needed.
Driven by work exhaustion, 57.5% of dialysis technicians reported burnout and 52.6% reported that they intend on remaining a technician in 3 years, according to data published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.
“The perspectives of dialysis [patient care technicians] PCTs on burnout and their turnover intentions have rarely been directly elicited despite the critical frontline role that they play in U.S. in-center and acute hemodialysis care,” Laura C. Plantinga, PhD, from Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues wrote. They added, “[S]trategies to support and retain dialysis PCTs specifically are likely to have a tremendous impact on U.S. hemodialysis care, including reduced burden on dialysis PCTs and other staff (including nurses) and improved delivery of care and, ultimately, patient outcomes.”
In a cross-sectional national survey, researchers examined 228 members of the National Association of Nephrology Technicians/Technologists (NANT) between March and May 2022. Researchers distributed the anonymized survey via email through NANT.
Using the Likert-scale items with a range of 0 to 4 from the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index, researchers measured professional fulfillment or intrinsic rewards that respondents noted came from work. Additionally, researchers assessed burnout, turnover intention, medical errors and other variables.
Analyses revealed 72.8% of respondents worked at least 40 hours a week, with 57.5% reporting burnout and 37.3% reporting professional fulfillment. When asked what contributed to burnout, salary was reported by 66.5% of respondents, followed by supervisor support (64%), respect from other dialysis staff (57.8%), sense of purpose about work (54.5%) and hours worked per week (52.9%).
“[E]very person involved in the care of dialysis patients deserves a living wage, especially those spending the most time in direct patient care. As the cost of living continues to increase, it comes as no surprise that salary is at the forefront of technicians’ concerns. Indeed, the starting wage in many fast-food restaurants is higher than that of hemodialysis technicians,” Hanna Webb, MD, and Jay B. Wish, MD, wrote in an accompanying editorial. “Technicians are given a high degree of responsibility, and errors on their part can considerably impact patient safety. Additionally, employer-sponsored benefits, such as insurance and childcare, may be equally valuable, especially for those with children, in recruitment and retention of a diverse and loyal workforce.”
Almost half of the respondents said they did not intend to continue working as a dialysis PCT in the next 3 years.
“It is clearly in the best interest of dialysis providers to increase technician fulfillment and retention while decreasing burnout,” Webb and Wish wrote. “Results such as those reported in this survey suggest we will see a high rate of technician attrition in the coming years, even from those who are experienced and professionally involved, which should be disturbing to anyone involved in providing dialysis care.”
Reference:
- Dialysis technician burnout: An opportunity for empowerment. https://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(23)00587-5/fulltext. Published April 28, 2023. Accessed May 1, 2023.
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts