Recognizing the Difference Between Burnout and Moral Injury Can Help Save Your Staff

Physicians may be quick to admit certain symptoms of burnout—stress, decreased productivity, diminishing compassion—but are loath to consider they’re actually burned out. Call it denial or professional pride, but in truth they might be correct. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem that needs to be addressed immediately, however; a recent post on the healthcare website Stat notes an increase in “moral injury,” which is often misidentified as burnout. It’s actually akin to post-traumatic stress disorder, and in fact was first used to describe characteristics in combat veterans who had recently returned from war. Where soldiers might return home horrified by their own participation in killing others (not to mention the threat of dying themselves, and things they witnessed), healthcare providers may be jarred by “being unable to provide high-quality care and healing in the context of healthcare” as often as they expect to, according to Stat. “Failing to consistently meet patients’ needs has a profound impact on physician wellbeing—this is the crux of consequent moral injury.” Simultaneously chasing productivity numbers and patient satisfaction scores doesn’t help—and reducing pressure on providers to do so is one way to help them prevent job-related moral injury. Simple things like ensuring a work environment that encourages healthy habits can help, too, though the article says what’s really needed is “leadership that has the courage to confront and minimize those competing demands.” JUCM has looked at burnout from a specifically urgent care perspective. Read about it in Recognizing and Preventing Provider Burnout in Urgent Care in our archive.