Breath Control for Resilient Health Care Professionals

Burnout has reached rampant levels among healthcare professionals, with over one-half of physicians, nurses and health care assistants experiencing symptoms. The burnout epidemic is detrimental to patient care.

Burnout is a combination of exhaustion, compassion fatigue, cynicism, perceived inefficacy, chronic negative responses to stressful workplace conditions resulting from long-term occupational stress.

The consequences of burnout are not limited to the personal well-being of healthcare workers and clinicians. Many studies have demonstrated that health care provider burnout is detrimental to patient care.

• the number of major medical errors committed by a surgeon is correlated with the surgeon’s degree of burnout and likelihood of being involved in a malpractice suit
• among nurses and health care assistants, higher levels of burnout are associated with higher rates of both patient mortality and dissemination of hospital-transmitted infections
• In medical students, burnout has been linked to dishonest clinical behaviours, a decreased sense of altruism, and alcohol and substance abuse
• High rates of physician burnout also correlate with lower patient satisfaction ratings

At an institutional level, burnout results in greater job turnover and increased thoughts of quitting among health care professionals.

It also results in decreased workforce efficiency: a recent Mayo Clinic study estimated the loss of productivity due to health care professional burnout as the equivalent of eliminating seven entire medical school graduating classes. Consequently, burnout may contribute to an already impending physician, nursing and HCA shortage.

The symptoms of burnout seem to overlap with those of depressive disorders. In one study, over 90% of participants assessed as “burned out” by the MBI also met diagnostic criteria for depression and scored 15 or greater on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). In another study, depressed and “burned out” participants displayed similar attentional and behavioral alterations

What causes burnout for healthcare professionals?

Medscape gives physicians a list of possible burnout causes and asks them to rank their significance. Over the last five years the following list have consistently been ranked as 3 of the top four factors:

• Too Many Bureaucratic Tasks
• Too Much Time at Work
• Increasing Computerization of Practice

We have developed a program for health care professionals that provides effective solutions to the above top three factors that contribute to health care burnout.

We also tackle the other major contributing factors including pandemic exhaustion, compassion fatigue, cynicism, perceived inefficacy and depression.

The Breath Control Therapy for Health Care Professionals program is comprised of simple yet sophisticated exercises and techniques:

• Conscious functional breathing (Anatomy, Physiology and Neurology)
• Physical strengthening, lengthening and flexibility
• Mindfulness, Visualization and Imagery
• Concentration, Clarity and Focus
• Active Meditation
• Soatic Therapy and Psychophysiology
• Positive Psychology (Flow)
• Hydrotherapy (water or pool sessions)

Breath Control Therapy can help to reduce:

• workplace occupational stress
• major medical errors
• dishonest clinical behaviours
• mental health leave or stress leave
• alcohol and substance abuse
• occurrences of hospital-transmitted infections
• mortality rate

Breath Control Therapy can help to improve:

• the well-being of physicians, nurses, health care aids, medical students and all health care professionals
• job satisfaction
• interest, compassion and concern for the well-being of others
• patient satisfaction ratings
• workplace morale and teamwork
• patient care

We can deliver our Breath Control for Resilient Health Care Professionals Program in a variety of platforms depending on your facilities needs.  We can provide live on-line individual training, In person private one-on-one sessions, on-site clinics or workshops, telehealth conference or as a one or two day retreat format.