.jpg "Katherine Farrar, MS, PA-C photo")
Katherine Farrar, MS, PA-C
Critical Care Physician Assistant
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Justin Kim, ACNP, MSN (he/him/his)
George Washington University Hospital
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Ivy Benjenk, RN, MPH, PhD
Research Coordinator
George Washington University Hospital, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Kimia Zarabian, BS
Medical Student
George Washington University Hospital, United States
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Kyle Devine, n/a
medical student
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Philip Dela Cruz, n/a
Resident Physician
UHS SoCal MEC Internal Medicine Residency, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Eric Heinz, MD
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
George Washington University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Danielle Davison, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and of Medicine
George Washington University Medical Center, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Lia Losonczy, MD
Assistant professor
George Washington University Hospital, United States
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David Yamane, BS, MD
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Critical Care Medicine
George Washington University Hospital, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: For Whom Does the Bell Toll? 1-Year follow up on ED responders’ burnout during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Background: The COVID-19 (COVID) pandemic has caused incalculable damages throughout the U.S., with over 34-million infections and 600,000 deaths as of July 2021. Many medical personnel on the frontline, especially within emergency departments, experienced immense burnout. Although the extent of the burnout at the beginning of the pandemic has been reported in the literature, there is a paucity of data on how that has evolved over time. We aimed to survey providers a year into the pandemic on stress and burnout in the setting of new vaccine availability.
Methods: Two online surveys were distributed among healthcare providers at a tertiary academic center between 2020 and 2021. The initial survey was composed of questions evaluating the level of burnout and risk perception. The latter had the same questions for comparison, as well as questions regarding vaccination status and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL). Chi-squared tests were used to compare the results.
Results: There were 63 responses in 2020 and 78 responses in 2021. 94% received the COVID vaccine in 2021. Measures of risk perception, specifically “Feels job is imposing great risk” and “Afraid of falling ill with COVID” saw statistically significant decreases (87% to 62%, p= 0.001; 76% to 45%, p< 0.001, respectively). Meanwhile, while the point estimate for “feeling extra stress at work” and “thinking about resigning” also decreased, neither were statistically significant (85% to 76%, p=0.148; 11% to 9%, p= 0.673, respectively). The PROQOL results from 2021 showed most responders experienced either moderate or high levels of Burnout and Post-traumatic stress, but also Compassion Satisfaction (85%, 62%, and 96%, respectively).
Conclusion: During the 1-year study period there were significant improvements in terms of risk perception, though burnout and stress remained high. The reduction in risk perception may be related to vaccination, given the high rate of vaccination among this group and temporal correlation. However further research is necessary to support this relationship, as well as identify other potential factors to help reduce burnout in future pandemics.