The COVID Era Has Decimated Provider Satisfaction. Are You Doing Enough to Support Your Team?

The COVID-19 era has had a profound, deleterious effect on healthcare providers’ level of happiness in their work and in life, according to Medscape’s 2023 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report. Prepandemic, they were a pretty happy bunch, with 84% saying they were “somewhat” or “very” happy in their lives outside of work. Now, though, according to the report, only 58% can say that. There was a similar drop relating to work, specifically, too. Previously, 75% of participants reported being somewhat or very happy with work; today, less than half (48%) can claim that. While currently some (16%) say they’re neither happy nor unhappy at work, 36% say they are actually somewhat or very unhappy in their working life. Clearly, pandemic-related burnout is taking a toll. With job satisfaction having a significant effect on performance and the likelihood of staying in a job at any level, it would be advisable to assess your team’s morale. An article in the JUCM archive, Recognizing and Preventing Provider Burnout in Urgent Care, may be helpful to read.