Primary care practices battling burnout would do well to build capacity for adapting to change—taking charge of volatility rather than reacting to it—especially in times of widespread crisis.
And the practices that hit the bullseye on this target tend to hire people with emotional resilience, attend to workload issues, sustain a team-oriented culture and offer individualized attention from leadership.
Or, as put by the authors of the study behind these findings:
“[H]igher levels of adaptive reserve and positive behavioral response to change among healthcare professionals are associated with lower burnout. … [A] greater personal ability to respond to change is associated with lower burnout when the work environment is characterized by strong communication systems, teamwork, leadership support and other traits of adaptive reserve.”
The research was conducted at George Mason University in Virginia and published this month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
For the study, Debora Goldberg, PhD, MHA, MBA, and colleagues surveyed almost 1,300 primary care workers in more than 150 Virginia practices, querying them on various aspects of work known to be directly or indirectly associated with burnout.
Overall, around 20% of respondents reported burnout, the authors explain.
Goldberg and co-authors present some striking numbers that reflect burnout’s sliding association with group and individual preparedness for change.
With growing adaptation to change at the individual level, for example, came a decrease in burnout of 84% (as measured by a diagnostic index developed at Mason to measure readiness for change in individuals).
Similarly, burnout decreased by 51% as capacity for change increased at the practice level (as measured by a gauge called the practice adaptive reserve, or PAR, instrument).
Meanwhile the team’s analysis of the responses confirmed previous research showing providers are more likely to report burnout than clinical support staff and administrative staff.
In coverage posted by Mason’s news division, Goldberg remarks that the level of ableness a medical practice displays for adapting to shifting conditions “influence[s] the relationship between individual response to change and burnout. Therefore, we recommend that physician practices and healthcare systems implement initiatives to reduce burnout by creating positive work environments through interprofessional teamwork, employee engagement and enhanced communication.”
Full study here.
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.