First of all, know that it is NOT about YOU.
Polls show that more than 50% of all health care providers feel burned out.
FIFTY PERCENT!
My bet is that this is significantly HIGHER (who is honest with these studies when it could get back to employers/co-workers??)
My bet is that midwives feel this as much as anyone.
My bet is that many people are blaming THEMSELVES for this.
My bet, is that most people feel alone, isolated, confused and unclear what to do to feel better.
This is a problem caused by a broken health care system. NOT the providers.
This is a problem created by chronic conflict between:
1. The inner drive to serve, heal, create the best offerings of care (our altruistic hearts)
2. The requirements of externally driven demands that do not support this goal (Financial business of medical care)
This inner conflict becomes internalized. Wendy Dean calls it: death by a thousand tiny cuts.
Factors leading to burnout include:
Increased work hours
Administrative bureaucracy
Electronic medical records (so many parts here; screen time, depersonalized record keeping, TIME requirements, relevancy etc)
Productivity expectations (quantity rather than quality)
Poor leadership
Toxic work environments
Decreased peer support
Lack of autonomy
Family impact
Whether you are a midwife working in a small home birth practice, a midwife working in a large hospital based practice, or somewhere in between, our work BREEDS burnout. We work LONG hours, with weirdly interrupted sleep. We interface with systems of health care that are clueless about how and why we do what we do, and keep asking us to do things we DON’T value that undermine the time honored ways of practicing that we DO value.
How well I remember the times assisting home births and the disrespect displayed by those at the receiving end of a transfer to the hospital.
How well I know the ongoing battles discussing the safety (and BENEFITS) of intermittent fetal monitoring AGAIN and AGAIN at yet another OB policy meeting.
How well I know the feeling of FINALLY getting some sleep after a long, complicated, unexpected birth outcome, only to have the beeper go off 20 minutes later.
Is there ANY question that midwives feel burnout?
Solutions
When asked, providers say the following things would help decrease or prevent burnout:
Flexible scheduling to build work/life balance
More pay
More staff
Autonomy
Increased respect/support by Administration/colleagues/coworkers
Decreased client load
No WONDER 42% of providers plan to leave their jobs within 2 years.
No WONDER there is a shortage of providers.
WHAT TO DO????
What to do?
Some of the suggestions sound counter intuitive.
1. Do less. This is the counter intuitive part. Care LESS. (NOT about the parts that light you up, but the parts that make you crazy.) Try it. What if you went into some of those monthly meetings and gave 80%? What if you didn’t care quite so much about what others think? Weirdly, work satisfaction goes UP when people stop doing so much. This can take some work and a bit of a mindset shift but there are tricks for this.
2. Take VACATION time. TWO full weeks off EVERY YEAR. I know, I know, it’s really hard to do this in midwifery. It’s hard to leave others on call. It’s hard to leave the Mamas who you so love. It’s easier to take a day here and there. But to get away, REALLY get away is a tonic that will renew your SOUL. And if this is set up as a priority for all your co-workers, your lives will be SO much better. You will survive and thrive. Your families will be happier. YOU will be happier. This is a policy worth putting your life on the line for. (it sort of already is right?)
3. Find TINY ways to build in mindfulness. Maybe it’s every time you wash your hands, you take a deep breath. Maybe every time you are on your way to a birth in the car, you find positive affirmations/blessings for you, for all who you will encounter ahead. Maybe it is finding a simple, positive (it must be truthful to be helpful) statement to yourself before your feet hit the floor in the morning or when called to a birth. Get creative. Explore what will work for you.
4. Build in little moments that light you up and BRING you energy. Singing to loud music? Shaking arms and legs. Crazy horse lips (we ask women to do this with cervical lips right? It clears out that vagus nerve!) Your favorite yoga stretch. A quick walk in fresh air. Eat some ice/splash your face with cold water. Breath of joy (hard to describe but you can google it. Someday I will demo it on IG). VOO breathing. Dancing. Make a list for yourself and when you need it, it will be there.
5. Find your tribe where you can be truthful. Feeling alone, isolated, separate from others is the ONE big factor that brings on the worst of burnout. Depression, anxiety, turning to alcohol is a common story with burnout. (NOT your fault!) We ARE creatures needing connection. When struggling, it is SO common to think it’s your fault, or your failure (it is NOT). Find even ONE place where you can be truthful, curious, explore options for yourself with out ANY judgement. This is hard. We tend to think we can figure things out by ourselves as health care providers. After all, we give good advice to people all day long. We dial down the emotions to survive. At a cost. That detachment of burnout is not only detachment to our work, but most costly, to ourselves.
Coaching can be that place of quiet safety. A confidential place. You can finally speak your truth. You can be your authentic self and find the joy in yourself sneak back in.
Reach out. There IS a way through this.
Xo Martha
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