Burnout is rampant among female health care workers. Here’s why

Healthcare workers, especially female healthcare workers, are experiencing burnout at an alarming rate.

A recent survey shared with The Hill by nursing marketplace platform ShiftKey found that 86% of women in the field, including nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and technicians, report experiencing burnout, and 64% report being burnt out. It was found that some respondents said they were at risk of developing the syndrome. now. ”

Although this proportion is significantly lower for men, it is still high. Sixty-six percent of male healthcare workers said they had experienced burnout, and 55% said they were currently at risk of burnout.

Female nurses were also more likely to say they had considered leaving the field, with 53% saying so compared to 32% of male nurses.

A variety of healthcare professionals participated in the ShiftKey study, a company spokesperson told The Hill. Physicians were not included.

Other studies have also shown that women in healthcare professionals, including physicians, experience burnout at higher rates than men.

The American Medical Association released data last year. shows 57 percent Percentage of female physicians and nonphysician health care providers who reported experiencing burnout in 2022.

Meanwhile, 47% of male physicians and nonphysician health care providers responded similarly.

Researchers at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Resilience & Wellbeing Center found similar disparities in: Analysis published last month One of 71 studies from 26 countries on healthcare worker health published from 1979 to 2022.

All studies reviewed included responses from women aged 18 to 74 who worked in a variety of health care roles, including physicians, nurses, clinical social workers, and mental health providers. Ta.

The analysis found that women working in the healthcare industry “endure significantly higher levels of stress and burnout than men.”

Researchers determined that gender inequality, lack of autonomy in the workplace, and poor work-life balance contributed to higher rates of burnout among women.

Kate Benoit, 52, a licensed practical nurse (LPN) normally based in Austin, Texas, said all three factors contributed to her near burnout four years ago. Told.

For decades, Benoit has worked full-time as an LPN (a nurse practitioner who provides basic medical care under the supervision of certified nurses and doctors) while also caring for her three children as a single mother.

In 2020, like many other health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she was routinely asked to pick up shifts and work extra hours. Benoit said.

But the extra work continued even after the pandemic subsided, and Benoit said the hospital she worked at began giving nursing staff more patients per shift without increasing pay or vacation time.

In addition to this, she said her employer didn’t really encourage work-life balance. For example, Benoit has plans for nearly every holiday as her children grow older, and she said she was routinely denied personal days to attend family events.

She said she also faced pushback when she asked to take time off from work to deal with her disabled son’s problems.

“I just felt like I was being taken advantage of,” she said.

“I was experiencing burnout as I was raising a family, paying ever-increasing medical costs, and dealing with the stress of dealing with an employer that basically froze nursing staff salaries while increasing the number of residents per nurse. “I’m getting closer,” she said.

While this is the experience of many nurses, regardless of gender, there is certainly a difference in the amount of stress that male and female nurses tend to endure, Benoit told The Hill.

And she believes that this gender imbalance is because women tend to accept They have more responsibility for housework and family than men.

“Many of the male nurses I meet seem to be able to: You can continue these long, extended weeks of work for a long time without getting burned out,” Benoit adds, adding that women can at least get some relief after a week or weeks of non-stop work. He added that he seemed to need time to calm down.

“For us, it’s very difficult to maintain a seven-day work week because we seem to be the primary caregivers as far as childcare, childcare, and even intervening in the affairs of our adult children.” she said.

Lee Frame, executive director of George Washington University’s Office of Integrative Medicine and Health and associate director of the Center for Resilience and Wellbeing, said that women typically: under “tremendous” pressure To be successful at home and at work.

And in the medical field, long hours, multiple shifts and family responsibilities can amplify this stress felt by women across the country, she added.

“Human beings are ill-equipped to deal with the intense and compounding pressures of medical settings, in part due to the pressure of not having time to care for themselves,” Frame said.