While the sudden transition to an online workplace initially caused fear and uncertainty, many employees found that they didn’t want to go back to their offices. This has caused a lot of questions regarding the most enticing ways for companies to retain their workforce while still managing to create a workplace culture.
However, there are some jobs that make it either more difficult or nearly impossible to work remotely. While we mostly discussed the example of nursing, physicians are also a part of the workforce that mostly require to be in-person. Some providers can work via telemedicine, such as psychiatrists, but certain physical manifestations of life such as blood tests or lung sounds can only be performed when in contact with another healthcare professional.
A similarly pressing issue is the issue of physician burnout. According to one study, at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, 63% of physicians showed at least 1 sign of burnout. Part of the reason for this burnout is the inability of physicians to practice as they wish, which includes suboptimal working conditions such as having to rush from room to room or fighting with insurance companies.
Many in the medical field blame medicalization and the “business of medicine” for creating this work environment that directly clashes with what doctors had expected when they entered the field. But now that businesses are scrambling to redesign their workplaces, does this bring an opportunity to reshape how healthcare environments are structured to ensure that physicians, PAs, nurses, and others are less likely to suffer from burnout? Or will healthcare environments be told to “wait” until after COVID is “over,” and change never occurs because the momentum has been lost?
I sympathize for the need for flexibility in the field of medicine. I view hospital structuring as one challenge for this, even non profit hospitals are permitted to to use much of profits for CEO salary and “reinvestment” instead of allowing for a larger staff with shorter hours which is the most practical solution. In our slow progressing culture it seems its going to take a long period of collective bargaining to get where we need to be.
Emie: great post, and while I don’t disagree with you about the impact of burnout in healthcare/medical fields because of COVID, I wonder if you have thought about how the pandemic FORCED healthcare to become more accessible by making telehealth (in the areas that can use it) a norm. I do see that as a silver lining to the pandemic.