As a trained healthcare professional, one of the most important lessons I've learned over the years is that helpers, healers, and caregivers also need to be helped, healed, and cared for. So often, healthcare professionals including social workers, doctors, nurses, home health aides, physical therapists, (and the list goes on), are expected to be superhuman at the expense of their own humanity. We are expected to work long hours, meet with 'just one more patient', skip lunch, and be available 24/7, to the detriment of our own physical and mental wellness, family/social relationships, and basic human needs.
Healthcare professionals are often told that our altruism is admirable yet, particularly in the behavioral health industry, where professionals such as social workers are vastly underpaid, that admiration doesn't come with appropriate compensation for the skill, training, and professional responsibilities we carry. Admiration, while appreciated, is not a currency that can be deposited in our bank accounts, pay for our homes, or support our families! We're constantly called on in times of crisis, asked to volunteer our time to help society through tragedies, and yet others forget that we too are part of society and are deserving of support. Compassion fatigue and burnout are commonplace in our professions; they impact our individual and collective ability to educate others, care for each other, respond to our clients' needs, and consistently center our individual well-being.
Dr. Claire SPEAKS! firmly believes that in order for health care providers, caregivers, and educators to truly care for others, interrupt cycles that create harm, reduce patient errors, educate the next generation of professionals through a lens that centers health equity, and build a legacy of trust with those we serve, we must investigate and change the practices, policies, and organizational cultures that negatively impact our ability to thrive.
Healthcare professionals are human too. By nature of being human, you/I/we deserve rest, peace, to be heard, and to heal, so that we can help others heal.
For more on burnout and how to identify and address your wellness, click here
Comments