No industry was more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than healthcare, and we’re still dealing with the fallout of a worldwide pandemic in a number of ways. The strain the pandemic put on healthcare workers was immense, and new studies show that it’s taken a significant physical, mental and emotional toll on many healthcare workers, including physical therapists. In fact, a recent study shows that burnout among physical therapists is at an all-time high.
But what’s driving physical therapist burnout, and more importantly, what can we do to address it? We’ll try to answer those questions in today’s blog.
Physical Therapist Burnout
Physical therapy is a rewarding but demanding job, and the demands of the industry were greatly amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. That impact was clearly identified in a study by WebPT titled The State of Rehab Therapy, which surveyed more than 6,700 rehab therapists in the U.S. to understand how they’ve been impacted by the pandemic. The biggest takeaway from the survey was that 46.8 percent of physical therapists feel more burned out now than they did prior to COVID-19. Only 19.6 percent of PTs said that they did not feel burned out pre- or post-COVID.
But what’s driving this burnout? According to researchers, burnout among PTs increased during and after the pandemic for three main reasons:
- Fear of contracting COVID-19
- A change in the number of hours worked per week
- A change in clinic morale
All of these concerns are completely valid. Working closely with patients increased a provider’s risk of contracting COVID-19, which can lead to severe or long-haul symptoms. Many PTs also had their hours limited as in-person clinics closed or surgeries were delayed and their client load dropped. These two factors alone would be enough to worsen clinic morale, but a number of other COVID-related factors also likely contributed to this dip in morale.
So how can we help to prevent burnout? We’re taking a number of steps to help promote an atmosphere that is helpful for our team members’ physical, mental and emotional well-being. We added remote consultations so that providers could still see patients and keep their hours while also reducing their risk of contracting COVID-19. We’ve also worked hard to expand our client base so that any drop in caseload due to COVID-19 was offset by new patients, ensuring that our therapists could continue to get their hours. And finally, we’re regularly checking in with team members to understand how they are doing and if there are any ways we can help to alleviate the physical, mental and emotional burden of the services they perform. In order to provide the best care for our clients, we need to ensure that their therapy team is in a healthy headspace.
If you’re feeling burned out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, know that you’re not alone. Many professionals are going through something similar, but we’re working hard to counteract these stressors and provide the best care to our team and our patients. To learn more about how we can help you overcome a physical issue or better manage feelings of stress, reach out to the talented team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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