Reducing burnout in overworked medical staff

GPs and practice nurses are the frontline in Australia’s response to COVID-19. However, medical receptionists also play an integral role and it is very clear that without them, general practices would struggle to operate. 

The role of a medical receptionist has changed drastically due to COVID-19. Despite having no training to make clinical decisions they are typically responsible for:

• asking patients about their travel history and symptoms; and 
• monitoring body temperature to assess the risk of a patient being infected with COVID-19. 

Throughout the pandemic, medical receptionists have been responsible for deciding whether a patient:

• can attend a face-to-face appointment;
• can be seen in their car;
• should be placed in an isolation room for their consultation;
• should have a telehealth appointment; or
• should be asked to go to the hospital instead.

Currently, phones are ringing non-stop at general practices with people frantic and impatiently wanting to know when and how they can receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

Every time a change occurs to recommendations or advice about COVID-19 vaccines, general practices are bombarded with anxious and frustrated people trying to book in to talk to a GP or to cancel their booking. This is in addition to supporting patients as well as managing the added workload of triaging, screening and telehealth.

The emotional demand and rate of burnout is incredibly high in general practices at present, and supporting staff is now more important than ever.

Signs of burnout include emotional exhaustion, low accomplishment, extreme fatigue, irritability, hopelessness and high absenteeism.

There are various ways to ways to reduce the level of staff burnout, but here are some common approaches:

Don’t wait until it’s too late

• In the medical industry today, stress is inevitable. However, it is how it is dealt with that matters.
• Employers and/or authorised staff members should regularly acknowledge stress within the workplace, and encourage constructive ways to manage stress, particularly in staff meetings and staff training opportunities.

Check-in with your staff

• High levels of burnout are common in workplaces where there is a lack of control, staff conflict, long hours, lack of time, and lack of resources.
• However, this may not be obvious to an employer. Therefore, it is imperative that employers check-in with staff on a routine basis to understand their perspective.

Encourage teamwork and team building

• Team meetings, group activities focused on problem-solving, and informal staff gatherings, are essential to create feelings of unity between all staff members in a workplace. 
• Incorporating team-building will create a feeling of “we are all in this together”, and reassure staff members that they are not alone.

Support stress management

• Some ways to support stress management include providing staff members with flexible work hours, employee assistance programs, encourage open communication, increase the amount of breaks, and offering mental and physical health benefits.

At AMA Queensland, we strive to ensure doctors have the appropriate support, throughout their careers, to deal with the challenges of the medical profession.

We deliver the Wellbeing at Work program for interns at the start of the careers in the hospital system.

The Wellbeing at Work program focuses on developing techniques for resilience and mindfulness, better managing interpersonal relationships, navigating difficult scenarios on the job and practical steps for asking for help.

Watch this video with our Wellbeing at Work facilitator Dr Ira van der Steenstraten with tips and advice on healthy habits for resilience and mindfulness.

You can also view this video with Dr Jennifer Schafer, Medical Director of from Doctors’ Health in Queensland (DHQ) where she reminds doctors of the importance of having their own GP for lifelong health and wellbeing.

We are delighted to support the DHQ program that provides a 24/7 helpline for doctors and medical students with independent and confidential advice, as well as resources to help doctors. 

Our budget submission called for an additional $1.97 million to extend the Wellbeing at Work program to other doctors in training and to partner with DHQ to extend the program into the private sector. 

We also have the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Webinar series available to all members is our which provides helpful support to our members and support staff and are accessible at this.

If you have any further questions or concerns about managing burnout within your practice, or any additional matters related to your workplace please contact us, the AMA Queensland Workplace Relations Team, on (07) 3872 2222 or at workplacerelations@amaq.com.au.