Burnout syndrome in healthcare providers: a preventable disease

Excerpt

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there will be a shortage of > 18 million healthcare providers (HCPs) by 2030. More than five million HCPs care for intensive care unit (ICU) patients throughout Europe. Shortage of ICU-nurses is not a new phenomenon, but has widely been exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With increasingly depleted workforces across healthcare systems, averting nurses and physicians’ shortage is the only way to secure timely, quality, and accessible healthcare to European populations. Clinician’s turnover is mostly driven by the presence of mental health symptoms, mainly, burnout. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when people feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. Among medical specialties, ICU clinicians are among the most affected by burnout syndrome (BOS). …