Rad Tech Clinical Coordinator College of Southern Idaho College of Southern Idaho Twin Falls, Idaho
A troubling trend is brewing, and it has the potential to be extremely disruptive to healthcare as a whole. In recent years, an alarming number of radiologists have reported burnout. In 2018, radiology was the seventh most common physician specialty where burnouts occurred (Kane 2018). This is in stark contrast to its 2017 ranking of 20th on the burnout list. Then Covid hit and all bets were off.
If the rads go out, you can bet the techs are right behind them. Scientific studies have shown that healthcare workers burn out at a higher rate than workers in other industries due to emotionally taxing interactions between healthcare workers and patients. Singh and colleagues (2016)
A stressed-out radiographer is indicative of a stressed-out radiology department as a whole. Combine this with our impending baby boomer retirement influx and Covid-19 policy revolving doors, and you have a recipe for epic disaster (Barr 2014).
So I decided to dig a little deeper and conduct some research into what causes employee burnout. This article will include responses from a social media forum of 5,000+ radiology employees I polled about what caused them to burn out in previous jobs and what is eating at them now. I will also discuss stress-reduction techniques and how to recover from burnout.
Learning Objectives:
Understanding the Causes and Cures of Workplace Burnout in Radiology
Identify 13 Causes of Burnout at the Workplace and Learn Two Proven Resolutions for Each Cause
Identify Self-Care Methods and Acknowledge When It Is Time to Find New Employment