Are You Overworking (And Overwhelming) Your Medical Staff?

The state of the economy, combined with new laws, has made for a challenging year in medical staffing.  Hospitals, clinics, and other organizations have had to do more with less staff.  While this has been financially beneficial for many organizations, it has caused many American workers tired of working longer hours for less pay, to mentally check out of their jobs.  Various surveys cite increased evidence of employees feeling overworked, overwhelmed, and burned out. In order to prevent damaging consequences of employee burnout, it’s important that, as a manager, you recognize the most evident signs that an employee is becoming overwhelmed.

4 Signs Your Medical Staff is Becoming Overworked & Overwhelmed

 

  1. They are Easily Angered. One of the first signs of stress and being overwhelmed is when an employee becomes highly defensive and quick to anger.  While crisis medical situations can become heated, usually after the situation is over employees will take a deep breath and return to their professional attitudes.  However, when employees are constantly short with other team members and verbally attack them, it’s usually a sign of being overwhelmed.
  2. Their Attention to Detail has Declined. A staff member who frequently forgets to sign a chart or properly clean a piece of medical equipment, may lack the attention to detail they once had due to being pulled in a million different directions.  When there are too many tasks to be completed and workers get overwhelmed, they often become distracted and forget to do the small things.
  3. There is an Evident Increase in Mistakes. Because the medical field involves many people and moving parts, human error will always be present.  However, if a team member starts to make more careless mistakes (big or small), chances are they’re being overworked—especially if these are the kind of mistakes that shouldn’t be happening given their experience and training.
  4. They Frequently Call in Sick. If you notice a staff member who is constantly feeling bad, leaving early for doctor’s appointments, etc., this may be a sign that they’re overworked.  Stress can affect health and be the cause of a variety of illnesses.  Women in high stress jobs have an 88 percent greater risk of heart attack.

On the flip side of this, overworked employees also are more likely to play hooky.  52 percent of American workers surveyed, said they’ve called in sick when they weren’t.  Of those 52 percent, 62 percent chalk it up to stress from work. The sooner you recognize the signs of overwhelmed employees, the sooner you’ll be able to address the situation and prevent ultimate burn out.  While medical employees are accustomed to high stress work environments, there’s a fine line between being stressed and being overworked.

 

BOS Medical Staffing
If your medical employees are overworked due to being short-staffed then it may be time to hire temporary employees to lighten their workload. If you are looking to hire additional medical professionals to supplement your staff, contact BOS Medical Staffing. Experts in staffing Athens, Georgia with leading medical professionals, we have the experienced staff on hand to assist you today! Contact our team of experts today for more information!

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