Addressing staff burnout through "hierarchy of needs" - 5 keys

Burnout is high among doctors, nurses and other clinical staff. If workers are at the end of their ropes, they can’t effectively take care of patients, so it’s essential for hospitals to do what they can to support clinical staff and reduce their stress.

Facilities have tried a variety of approaches, from animal therapy to “renewal rooms” for nurses. But in many cases, reducing physician and nurse burnout can be as straightforward as addressing workers’ basic needs effectively.

A recent article in the American Journal of Medicine discusses a sample structure that hospitals can follow to fight burnout in staff based on psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs.”

This concept is physically represented by a pyramid with various levels. The bottom level has a person’s most basic needs, which must first be fulfilled before addressing the needs at higher levels.

When applying this concept to physician and nurse burnout, there are five needs that must be addressed, in order, before clinicians can perform their jobs to the best of their abilities: