Connecting clinicians to ICU survivors may help lessen symptoms of burnout
Engaging with ICU survivors and seeing treatment successes in post-ICU clinics may reduce health care provider burnout, according to an abstract presented at Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Critical Care Congress.
ICU clinics have been established to address the physical, cognitive and mental health impairments associated with post-intensive care syndrome among survivors. However, the results of this study show that such clinics may also have additional benefits for ICU staff, according to the researchers.
“[Art therapy, yoga and meditation] are good self-care strategies for health care professionals, but they put the responsibility on the clinician to pursue them,” Tammy L. Eaton, PhD, MSc, RN, lead author and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, said in a press release from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. “Connecting health care professionals with former patients’ survival journey — including through videos, photographs, written stories and even in-person visits — shifts the focus of addressing burnout and gives ICU professionals purpose and stamina to keep going.”
In a qualitative secondary analysis, Eaton and colleagues evaluated interview transcripts of 29 multidisciplinary post-ICU clinicians (72.4% women, 69% work in academic clinical setting) — including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, psychologists and physical and occupational therapists — from 15 international locations to determine if post-ICU clinics lessen ICU staff burnout.
Researchers conducted post-hoc analyses from these interviews, which occurred in February and March 2021, with a constant comparative method.
Of the total cohort, the median length of time working as a clinician was 16 years (interquartile range [IQR], 7-21), and the median length of time working as part of a post-ICU program was 3 years (IQR, 1-4).
Based on responses from the clinicians, researchers found that feelings of burnout decreased with bidirectional exposure to and expression of humanizing actions and communication/visualization of successful treatment.
According to the abstract, when the ICU staff members connected with the survivors and families in-person after discharge, the caring relationships they formed with those they used to treat in a new environment helped combat feelings of burnout.
Additionally, when post-ICU staff received positive videos, photos and written stories of ICU survivors, they experienced fewer symptoms of burnout.
Most post-ICU clinics can only be found in large metropolitan areas or academic medical centers, according to the release. However, these findings demonstrate how these clinics help clinicians, suggesting the need for a wider availability of these clinics.
“Interprofessional teams in the ICU and health care administration should consider how programs that facilitate interaction with critical illness survivors may reduce the symptoms of burnout in ICU staff,” Eaton and colleagues wrote.
Reference:
- Eaton TL, et al. Crit Care Med. 2023;doi:10.1097/01.ccm.0000906220.15684.e4.
- Post-intensive care unit (ICU) clinics may reduce healthcare professional burnout. https://sccm.org/sccm/media/PDFs/Post-ICU-Clinics-and-Burnout-News-Release-Final.pdf. Published Jan. 21, 2023. Accessed Jan. 21, 2023.