TEL-AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medcase Health (Medcase), a global network of over 12k healthcare professionals, surveyed over 200 members of its global health professional community to see how far we’ve come in addressing the needs, health, and working environment of practicing clinicians.
The survey was on the topic of clinician well-being and the working conditions of healthcare professionals. This study comes at a crucial time when the healthcare industry continues to face an unprecedented rate of clinician shortages. Are healthcare institutions meeting the basic needs of today’s healthcare providers?
From the sample, Medcase gathered data to uncover how working conditions affect provider health and well-being. Results of the study showed that nearly 51% of respondents did not feel they were drinking enough water at work, and 63.08% did not take their allocated break time at work. Additionally, 38.35% reported that they were not able to use the bathroom when they needed to.
Other notable results found that jobs in healthcare may significantly impact someone’s personal life. Only 1 in 2 clinicians take all their annual contracted days off, while up to 50.7% would not feel comfortable asking for additional time off for personal reasons. Most shockingly, only 23.7% reported that their place of work offers debriefing sessions for emotionally challenging cases.
In a workforce where burnout is rampant, time off is essential to ensure that health providers can continue doing their job in the long term while remaining diligent and patient. It is concerning that no additional resources are being given, considering the high-stress environment of this industry. Levels of burnout are at an all-time high, and the lack of emotional support may play a prominent role in this phenomenon. Evidence shows that debriefing is essential to reducing psychological harm to individuals and acts as a great platform to prevent and initiate positive culture change and decrease untoward incidents.
Conversely, 72.6% of providers feel that their interpersonal relations and support from colleagues are excellent. Support and camaraderie in a healthcare setting are crucial and a huge morale booster for all healthcare professionals during a tough shift.
It appears that a job in healthcare also has a significant impact on one’s personal life. Only 1 in 2 clinicians take all their annual contracted days off, while up to 50.7% would not feel comfortable asking for additional time off for personal reasons. Again, in a workforce where burnout is rampant, time off is essential to ensure that health providers can continue doing their job in the long term while remaining diligent and patient.
Rebecca Brindza, Head of the Healthcare Professional Community at Medcase, noted, "For many years, doctors, nurses, and other health professionals have been raising concerns about their extremely stressful work environments. Part of this is the expected nature of healthcare settings. However, the statistics show that providers' basic needs and emotional well-being are secondary. This lack of support is concerning, given that health professionals must put themselves aside to help their patients to the best of their ability and judgment, even while experiencing moderate to severe burnout. With healthcare professional shortages on the rise globally, health organizations need to prioritize and seriously address these concerns for the welfare of their physicians and patients.”
A sample of 279 healthcare providers from Medcase’s network who are currently in practice responded to a web-based survey through convenience sampling. The study was conducted from September to October 2022 and includes a 5% margin error using a 90% confidence level.
