Health Care Workers In Crisis—Efforts Toward Normalizing A Sustainable Workplace Culture
Just as health care workers should not be allowed to see patients if they had COVID-19 symptoms, they should have the institutional support and permission to abstain from caregiving if they are dealing with debilitating emotional or traumatic stress.
In this Health Affairs article, CAPC Director Dr. Diane E. Meier, Dr. Rebekah E. Gee, Dr. William R. Boles, Dr. Jay A. Kaplan and Alexandra D. Drane discuss how health care cultures should adapt and normalize support for mental well-being, similar to other fields, as a core cultural standard of quality and competency. COVID-19 can be the catalyst for this necessary culture change to reduce the stressors that lead to burnout and harm to both health care workers and their patients.