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Bryant & Stratton College *

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222

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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1 Who is Responsible for the Wellbeing of Healthcare Workers? Kayla Johnson PHIL222 - Ethics in Health & Human Services Bryant and Stratton College Patricia Morriss February 10 th , 2024

2 Introduction The case study “Dealing with Burnout” follows Ana, a second-year resident who notices her work starting to slip and starts to experience depression ( Dealing with Burnout | IHI - Institute for Healthcare Improvement , n.d.). The case goes on to discuss the culture of healthcare and the lack of wellness for healthcare professionals and the way this culture can lead to negative impacts on patients, such as medication errors, incorrect diagnosis, or even death. The ethical issue presented is whether a Healthcare organization should have an obligation to ensure the good mental health of its staff or if the burden of self-advocacy falls on the staff member. Healthcare worker burnout is an all-too-common issue brought on by healthcare professionals' long and demanding hours and is characterized by depression, lack of mental reasoning, and reduced ability to make sound decisions quickly. At times, it becomes hard to recognize that burnout is happening until it has gone on for too long and negative effects have occurred. While it is important for healthcare personnel to be in touch with their feelings and emotional state, sometimes these factors can go unnoticed. A lack of self-awareness can be an issue in those dealing with burnout; healthcare organizations must ensure staff members are avoiding burnout and are in good mental health; they should implement safety measures and programs to ensure their personnel function safely and provide the best care possible. Utilitarianism supports this viewpoint, as ensuring the positive mental state of healthcare workers is in most people's best interest. Burnout Leads to Poor Health Outcomes and Poor Patient Satisfaction

3 One of the largest risk factors health professionals face when it comes to burnout is chronic lack of sufficient sleep. Burnout has been proven to lead to reduced motivation and subpar communication with patients and increases the risk of significant medication errors by 96% (Couser et al., 2022). Physicians operating in a start of burnout put their patients at significantly higher risk than those operating in optimal conditions. In a 2019 study comparing two hospitals that provided mental health support and working hours limits for their physicians and one that did not, patient outcomes in the facility with physician support consistently supported better patient health outcomes (Tolins et al., 2023). Due to the seriousness of the implications of burnout, healthcare providers have an ethical obligation to ensure they are avoiding burnout and are given the tools necessary to keep themselves at optimal performance. In the utilitarian point of view, allowing staff members to experience burn out and the symptoms that go along with it cause the staff member to experience pain. The ethical stance would be to ensure the staff members are experiencing the absence of pain. Due to reduced self-regulation capabilities and reduced functioning of the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for decision-making and stress regulation that burnout causes, patient satisfaction suffers greatly (Couser et al., 2022). When in a state of burnout, a physician cannot behave patiently and has issues explaining treatment plans and diagnoses to the patients. Additionally, physicians may begin to miss crucial factors to a patient's health. It would be in the best interests of the organization, the employees, and the patients for the employer to invest in their Health professionals' mental health and wellbeing. Therefore, employers keeping a watchful eye on their employee's mental health is in the best interests of most people, and does the best for most people, making it the ethical choice under the utilitarian theory. Staff Turn Over

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