Burnout and stress continue to plague cardiologists all over the world—and the specialty is starting to fight back.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), European Society of Cardiology and World Heart Federation have collaborated on a new paper urging healthcare organizations and industry societies to implement new policies that will help prevent clinician burnout.
While more than one in four cardiologists report being burned out, nearly 50% say they feel stressed—and less than 24% say they truly enjoy their work. These groups—four of the most prominent cardiovascular societies in the world—hope that they can help reverse that trend by making it a priority to improve the well-being of healthcare providers.
“Over the last several decades, there have been significant changes in health care with the expansion of technology, regulatory burden and clerical task loads,” co-author Athena Poppas, MD, immediate past president of the ACC, said in a statement. “These developments have come at a cost to the well-being and work-life integration of clinicians. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused additional strain on clinicians through increased patient mortality, personal and family safety concerns, fear of the unknown and increased work demands. The time is now to join with our global health care professionals to call for quick action to improve clinician well-being worldwide.”
“Our organizations are joined together in this report to ensure that we create a strong and supportive clinician environment—for our personal wellbeing and for our families, loved ones and patients,” added co-author Mitchell S.V. Elkind, MD, MS, immediate past president of the AHA. “Well-being is essential to achieving personal fulfilment and satisfaction in our work.”
The full paper has been published simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, European Heart Journal and Global Heart. Click here to read it in full.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.