(Montreal) Even though the intensity of the COVID-19 crisis has subsided, burnout continues to increase among emergency physicians across the country.
Problems linked to the health system are the cause, according to a Canadian study which first appeared in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.
The results of the survey, carried out in the fall of 2022, made it possible to compare the evolution of the mental health of 309 doctors from one end of Canada to the other who had participated in a survey in 2020 which also measured professional burnout among emergency physicians.
Comparing the results, we see that 59% of respondents feel high emotional exhaustion, which represents an increase of 18 points compared to the 2020 results.
“Emotional exhaustion is associated with the feeling of being emotionally overwhelmed and exhausted by one’s work, and the impression of lacking energy and motivation to accomplish it,” specifies a press release from Laval University, whose Professor at the Faculty of Medicine Patrick Archambault is co-author of the study.
“It does not surprise me to see that distress is increasing when we see on the ground to what extent resources are less available than before,” declared in an interview Mr. Archambault, who is also an emergency intensivist at the Hotel- God of Lévis.
The pandemic has made it possible to concentrate services at different critical points in the health system, which has temporarily reduced emergency room traffic, he explained.
The return to normal has meant that pre-pandemic problems have returned. Worse, several health professionals have deserted the profession, by retiring or changing careers, underlines Mr. Archambault. He fears that the health system will collapse if no solution is provided quickly by governments.
“There will still be professionals who give their body and soul every day in emergencies […] but the crisis continues. The problem is that this professional burnout could continue to worsen and there could be more departures and fewer resources in emergencies if we fail to support the teams.
“We must salute the work of emergency doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, pharmacists. All the players who are currently in the health system are working hard to help the population,” underlined Mr. Archambault. He maintains that professionals have the desire to continue to support the system, but that there is an urgency to find solutions.
The dysfunctional system involved
The study results also indicate that 64% of respondents feel a high level of depersonalization. This is an increase of 11 points compared to the 2020 survey.
Depersonalization is the fact of being faced with a situation that we want to resolve, but we could do better to get there.
Mr. Archambault gave the example that doctors often send seniors home more quickly than they would like since emergencies are not a favorable environment for them, especially being lying on a stretcher. “Risk management becomes very great and the stress that this imposes on emergency physicians contributes to this depersonalization and this professional burnout,” he comments.
The aging of the population, the greater complexity of emergency problems and the time required to resolve them with fewer resources are all factors that contribute to physician burnout, according to Mr. Archambault, who is also a researcher. at VITAM – Sustainable Health Research Center and at the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches Research Center.
He said the comments provided by the study’s respondents suggest avenues to explain the decline in their mental health. The comment that came up most often was that the health care system has become dysfunctional.
Quebec’s demographic curve means that the number of seniors who turn to emergencies for lack of other services is increasing. In addition, the availability of private seniors’ residences (RPA) is decreasing.
“It’s the perfect storm for the world to flock to the emergency room and occupy beds, because seniors need greater resources in communities, but they are simply no longer available,” laments Mr. Archambault.
Burnout among emergency physicians may be even more serious than the survey shows because of doctors who did not respond to the survey. “The loss to follow-up could be people who have recovered very well and who just have no interest in responding to the follow-up survey, but the probability that it is doctors who are even more exhausted is quite high. »
Mr. Archambault is aware that governments are working with hospitals and professional associations to find solutions, but given the shortage of staff, this must accelerate.
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