by Regardless of the industry a worker is operating in, an overly heavy workload is rarely conducive to producing the most efficient levels of productivity or generating the greatest possible results. Sometimes, healthy working patterns can be overlooked in the pursuit of standard business objectives, such as generating more profit.
However, in the healthcare industry, the goal of the organization is to provide quality healthcare treatment to patients, making healthy work patterns for employees even more important to ensure that they’re able to communicate positively with patients, produce advanced medical procedures, and maintain motivation across long working hours.
There are several factors contributing to the medical healthcare workforce facing increasingly difficult working patterns, and these can have harmful implications for the worker and the broader community alike.
Why do Medical Care Professionals Have Such a Heavy Workload?
To some extent, medical care professionals are accepting that their working patterns might be slightly abnormal when they enter the industry. Medical workers often must endure years of rigorous education, training, and testing before becoming qualified professionals and are generally hard workers.
However, when an industry that is already demanding of its workers becomes stretched due to external factors outside the control of the organization or individual, it can create a working environment that makes employees vulnerable to drops in performance, and productivity and experiencing unhealthy levels of stress.
While medical scribing jobs aim to take pressure away from senior healthcare professionals by handling documentation and note-taking during patient appointments, it feels inevitable that staff across the organization are going to still experience an overly heavy workload.
So, why is the healthcare industry so stretched?
1. The Population is Ageing
The global population is rising rapidly, and thus, more individuals need medical treatment as they battle with some of the challenges that come with old age. In the last ten years, there’s been a stark increase in demand for medical care workers, and organizations have often struggled to provide an equilibrium level of supply.
Furthermore, many lifelong medical professionals are now or have already reached retirement age. Without a sufficient influx of new professionals entering the industry, healthcare organizations often struggle to recruit staff to fill the gaps left by recently retired members of their team.
2. Healthcare is Underfunded
Healthcare facilities may lack adequate resources, including staffing, equipment, and infrastructure, to meet the needs of patients effectively. Limited resources can lead to an increased workload for healthcare workers as they strive to provide high-quality care with limited support.
3. Healthcare Professionals Tend to Live in Cities
While many healthcare organizations across the country are struggling to cope with increases in medical demand and workforce shortages, it’s perhaps even more prevalent in smaller towns and communities.
A disproportionate level of healthcare workers live in major cities, leaving even fewer professionals available in small towns and villages where patients are just as in need of medical treatment. This means that healthcare professionals in smaller towns must work even longer hours and sometimes are forced to give up planned days off.
What are the Implications of an Overly Stretched Medical Care Workforce?
The workload of medical care workers needs to be appropriately managed, or there’ll continue to be a series of consequences that are damaging for the worker, their patients, and the organization.
1. It’s Harder to Attract New Professionals into the Industry
When prospective university students who could embark on a career in the medical industry hear relentless anecdotes about the overly stressful nature and heavy workloads of healthcare workers, they’re less likely to be interested in pursuing a career as a doctor, nurse, or dentist.
Ironically, younger people now place greater importance on taking care of their physical and mental well-being and are just less inclined to take a risk on a career that could have negative implications on their health.
2. Existing Staff Experience Burnout
Many healthcare workers perform an admirable role in providing treatment to patients, but there’s only so much they are able to take. If the workload is too heavy, high-pressure situations are becoming too stressful, and breaks and time off are becoming too infrequent, an anxiety or burnout-evoking working atmosphere is unfortunately created.
This means that employees may need to take stress leave away from work, leaving working professionals even more stretched than they already were.
3. Patients Face Difficulty Receiving Quick and Quality Treatment
When healthcare professionals have overly heavy workloads, patients may experience challenges in accessing quick and quality healthcare treatment. These challenges can have significant implications for patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Overworked healthcare professionals may have less time to dedicate to each patient, leading to longer wait times for appointments, procedures, and consultations. Patients may experience delays in receiving the care they need, which can worsen their condition or lead to increased discomfort and anxiety.
Overall, patients may perceive a decline in the quality of care and patient experience when healthcare professionals are overworked. They may feel that their needs are not being prioritized, their concerns are not being heard, and their care is being compromised due to workload pressures. This can erode trust in the healthcare system and lead to decreased satisfaction with the care received.
