Why should we care for our caregivers?

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Note from the author: Throughout this article, the term "informal caregiver" generally refers to anyone who provides care to someone else, including caregivers and caregivers. health professionals.

When I started my medical studies at Johns Hopkins, I was the healthiest of my life, both physically and mentally. I had just finished my first marathon and triathlon, forging two close friendships and I was really excited about the upcoming trip.

Six months later, I took 20 pounds, ignored the calls of my friends and family, and for the first time in my life considered whether or not to fill an antidepressant prescription.

What is the cause of this rapid decline? Well, there were many factors, including the fact that I was wasting my personal care routine, that I was losing touch with my friends and family, that I could not directly help the patients, that I was not going to help them. worried about my growing student debt and unnecessarily competitive atmosphere. Fortunately, during my descent, I came upon an influential man study this was done on the other side of the street, at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, which showed that clinicians who adopted healthy lifestyle behaviors were more likely to advise their patients to do so. even. This realization that my personal health would affect the health of my future patients has had a profound influence on me and has provided the motivation to reverse the course of my career.

In the months that followed, my schoolmates and I created an oath called The promise of the patient that we have signed with thousands of other current and future healthcare professionals and caregivers. We decided to adopt healthy lifestyles, such as adopting a balanced diet, taking the time to do physical activity, avoiding harmful substances and taking care of our mental health, not only for our own sake, but for our patients' sake.

Although my health is better than when I started my medical studies, largely because of the development of seed habitsthe level of general wellbeing and burnout of clinicians and caregivers has further worsened. Last month Medscape published its annual report on physician burnout, depression and suicide report and found that 44% of the 15,000 physicians surveyed felt exhausted compared to 39% in 2013 survey. Another study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic revealed a 9% increase in physician burnout from 2011 to 2014. Nearly 300 to 400 physicians committed suicide every year; c & # 39; double the rate of the general population.

These reports have led the medical community to examine the onset of burnout from clinician training and the results are not encouraging. A recently published Systematic review found that the level of burnout among the global population of medical students was also around 44%, and another review found that 29% of residents were likely to experience a major depressive episode during training compared to 8% of individuals of the same age in the general population. Likewise, a study Nearly 1,200 hospitalized nurses found that depression rate was twice that of the general population (18% vs. 9%), which is remarkably similar to another study which found that 20% of caregivers over the age of 50 had symptoms of depression, compared to 8% of their non-caregiving peers. In addition, 72% of family caregivers report do not go to the doctor as often as they should and 58% reported to have less good habits regarding exercise compared to before taking on their caregiver responsibilities. & nbsp; & nbsp;

With the increase demand For clinicians and caregivers because of the aging of the population, it is essential to understand and address the systemic and individual factors that lead to burnout and its consequences, such as turnover of professional staff. There are at least three consequences to which we should pay particular attention:

• Consequences for the caregiver. & nbsp;The rates of burnout and depression among clinicians and caregivers appear to be increasing and can lead, at best, to absenteeism and at worst to suicide. Our caregivers are not just the nuts and bolts of our health system to help us when we need them, but rather individuals with their own desires and needs.
• Consequences for the patient. At the beginning of a flight, the flight attendant always reminds us to "put the oxygen mask on oneself before helping anyone". It is intuitively logical: how to help someone else in case of disability? & nbsp;Several studies have shown that burnout and emotional exhaustion can be significant predictors of major medical errors, malpractice lawsuits, health care-badociated infections, patient satisfaction. and even mortality rates of patients. In addition, as mentioned above, clinicians who practice what they preach are more likely to be able to counsel and influence their patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle. As famed doctor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer says:The example is not essential to influence others. That's the only thing."
• Consequences for the health system. The effects of burnout on the caregiver and the patient have consequences for the entire health system. For example, staff turnover can cost health care organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars per provider to replace. Furthermore longitudinal study physicians have shown that a 1 point increase in emotional exhaustion or a 1 percentage point decrease in job satisfaction was badociated with a greater probability of 28% and 67% respectively of reduction in work hours in the year next, which weighed down a clinic already overloaded the workforce. While the Association of American Medical Schools has called for increased enrollment in medical schools to meet the demand. It is estimated that the reduction in productivity due to emotional exhaustion at the national level equates to the loss of seven clbades of graduate medical students per year.

Leading medical organizations such as the National Academy of Medicine and the Council for Accreditation of Higher Medical Education pay special attention to the above-mentioned problems and, in response, have developed a Collaborative action on the well-being and resilience of clinicians. It is encouraging to see the number of organizations, from the American Nurses Association to Aetna, who have joined the collaborative group because the complexity of the problem will require a diverse set of solutions ranging from individual levels to systemic.

Focusing on the well-being and resilience of caregivers will have a combination effect and will have a positive impact on public health, not only because of improved productivity and quality of care, but also because because of the spread of coping strategies such as physical activity, mindfulness and health. eat from caregiver to patient. & nbsp;

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Note from the author: Throughout this article, the term "informal caregiver" generally refers to anyone who provides care to someone else, including caregivers and caregivers. health professionals.

When I started my medical studies at Johns Hopkins, I was the healthiest of my life, both physically and mentally. I had just finished my first marathon and triathlon, forging two close friendships and I was really excited about the upcoming trip.

Six months later, I took 20 pounds, ignored the calls of my friends and family, and for the first time in my life considered whether or not to fill an antidepressant prescription.

What is the cause of this rapid decline? Well, there were many factors, including the fact that I was wasting my personal care routine, that I was losing touch with my friends and family, that I could not directly help the patients, that I was not going to help them. worried about my growing student debt and unnecessarily competitive atmosphere. Fortunately, during my descent, I came upon an influential man study this was done on the other side of the street, at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, which showed that clinicians who adopted healthy lifestyle behaviors were more likely to advise their patients to do so. even. This realization that my personal health would affect the health of my future patients has had a profound influence on me and has provided the motivation to reverse the course of my career.

In the months that followed, my schoolmates and I created an oath called The promise of the patient that we have signed with thousands of other current and future healthcare professionals and caregivers. We decided to adopt healthy lifestyles, such as adopting a balanced diet, taking the time to do physical activity, avoiding harmful substances and taking care of our mental health, not only for our own sake, but for our patients' sake.

Although my health is better than when I started my medical studies, largely because of the development of seed habitsthe level of general wellbeing and burnout of clinicians and caregivers has further worsened. Last month Medscape published its annual report on physician burnout, depression and suicide report and found that 44% of the 15,000 physicians surveyed felt exhausted compared to 39% in 2013 survey. Another study conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic revealed a 9% increase in physician burnout from 2011 to 2014. Nearly 300 to 400 physicians committed suicide every year; c & # 39; double the rate of the general population.

These reports have led the medical community to examine the onset of burnout from clinician training and the results are not encouraging. A recently published Systematic review found that the level of burnout among the global population of medical students was also around 44%, and another review found that 29% of residents were likely to experience a major depressive episode during training compared to 8% of individuals of the same age in the general population. Likewise, a study Nearly 1,200 hospitalized nurses found that depression rate was twice that of the general population (18% vs. 9%), which is remarkably similar to another study which found that 20% of caregivers over the age of 50 had symptoms of depression, compared to 8% of their non-caregiving peers. In addition, 72% of family caregivers report do not go to the doctor as often as they should and 58% reported to have less good habits regarding exercise compared to before starting their care activities.

With the increase demand For clinicians and caregivers because of the aging of the population, it is essential to understand and address the systemic and individual factors that lead to burnout and its consequences, such as turnover of professional staff. There are at least three consequences to which we should pay particular attention:

• Consequences for the caregiver. The rates of burnout and depression among clinicians and caregivers appear to be increasing and can lead, at best, to absenteeism and at worst to suicide. Our caregivers are not just the nuts and bolts of our health system to help us when we need them, but rather individuals with their own desires and needs.
• Consequences for the patient. At the beginning of a flight, the flight attendant always reminds us to "put the oxygen mask on oneself before helping anyone". It is intuitively logical: how to help someone else in case of disability? Several studies have shown that burnout and emotional exhaustion can be significant predictors of major medical errors, malpractice lawsuits, health care-badociated infections, patient satisfaction. and even mortality rates of patients. In addition, as mentioned above, clinicians who practice what they preach are more likely to be able to counsel and influence their patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle. As famed doctor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer says:The example is not essential to influence others. That's the only thing."
• Consequences for the health system. The effects of burnout on the caregiver and the patient have consequences for the entire health system. For example, staff turnover can cost health care organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars per provider to replace. Furthermore longitudinal study physicians have shown that a 1 point increase in emotional exhaustion or a 1 percentage point decrease in job satisfaction was badociated with a greater probability of 28% and 67% respectively of reduction in work hours in the year next, which weighed down a clinic already overloaded the workforce. While the Association of American Medical Schools has called for increased enrollment in medical schools to meet the demand. It is estimated that the reduction in productivity due to emotional exhaustion at the national level equates to the loss of seven clbades of graduate medical students per year.

Leading medical organizations such as the National Academy of Medicine and the Council for Accreditation of Higher Medical Education pay special attention to the above-mentioned problems and, in response, have developed a Collaborative action on the well-being and resilience of clinicians. It is encouraging to see the number of organizations, from the American Nurses Association to Aetna, who have joined the collaborative group because the complexity of the problem will require a diverse set of solutions ranging from individual levels to systemic.

Focusing on the well-being and resilience of caregivers will have a combination effect and will have a positive impact on public health, not only because of improved productivity and quality of care, but also because because of the spread of coping strategies such as physical activity, mindfulness and health eating from caregiver to the patient.