To Improve Feelings of Control And/Or Reduce Feelings of Chaos

Tactics to reduce burnout For use in your practice setting

To improve feelings of control and/or reduce feelings of chaos:

 Provide flexible scheduling options for providers, such as:

o More part-time options

o Seven days on, seven days off for ambulatory practices

o Flexible scheduling at the beginning and end of the day for clinicians who are parents

 Consistently schedule support staff (e.g., MAs, RNs, etc.) with the same providers.

 Outsource time-consuming tasks, such as coding, to other departments or other staff members in the organization.

 Pilot a call “cap and trade program” in which providers are compensated more if they are willing to take more call time. This may relieve the burden on providers who find it difficult to take call shifts because of personal obligations.

To improve team spirit and teamwork:

 Implement clinic changes, such as regular care team huddles.

 Work with occupational health or organizational development departments to hold training sessions on building trust and respect within the team.

 Recognize accomplishments of providers at staff meetings or through one-on-one recognition.

To improve communication:

 Provide a mechanism for providers to give ongoing feedback, such as:

o Setting aside dedicated time at staff meetings to share concerns

o Holding office hours with leader

o Putting out a comment box

 Begin meetings by sharing patient case studies.

 Distribute agendas before meetings and provide minutes shortly after to recap discussions. Ask providers for their input on the minutes.

1 Copyright 2015 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.  Work with your electronic health record (EHR) vendor or IT department to provide better EHR templates that are consistent, easy to read and clinically meaningful.

 Provide additional EHR training to providers to improve proficiency and ensure they have skills needed to use the system effectively.

To learn more about stress and burnout results from the Mini Z (e.g., in departments or clinics with challenges):

 Administer a longer survey instrument at clinic or department meetings. Discuss the findings with the group.

 Seek insight on specific challenges by scheduling one-on-one meetings with providers whenever possible. Be supportive and earnest during the meeting.

Source: AMA. Practice transformation series: burnout. 2015.