Burnout is a very well-described phenomenon in healthcare, including physical therapy. It is estimated one in four therapists experience burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal and professional accomplishment. Even though granular issues are tied to burnout, i.e., time pressure, documentation, etc., factors associated to professional burnout occur at three main levels: healthcare system-at-large, organizational level and personal level. In this lecture, the presenters will showcase the most up-to-date content associated with burnout in order to protect the professions most valuable resource: the clinician. Burnout has been shown to spill over to patient care, productivity, low morale, absenteeism and turnover. The good news is that there are numerous ways, organizationally and personally, to prevent and treat burnout. This presentation will feature an extensive series of immediately-applicable strategies to help with burnout, based on the latest evidence. For clinic owners, managers or directors, organizational changes and strategies will be discussed to support clinicians. On a personal level, strategies such as mindfulness, gratitude journals, personality trait checks, work schedules, documentation-assistance, time-management, relationship management, sleep, exercise and more will be discussed to prevent and help with burnout. This session is a must for all physical therapists.
