Health care workers dealing with 'medical burnout' amid exhausting pandemic

The pandemic has taken its toll on health care workers, leading many to experience medical burnout.
Dr. Evelina Grayver, who works in a COVID-19 ICU, says the trauma and stress can take a toll on medical staff. She says burnout has alway been a bullet to dodge, but the coronavirus has made it even tougher.
"At a certain point, we allow ourselves to be human and allow ourselves to feel the fear and the helplessness and the sense of desperation," says Grayver. "Because if we don't deal with it head-on, we are going into an era of anxiety depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder."
Northwell Health has set up several resources for its medical providers who are feeling burned out, including outreach programs, counseling and setting up tranquility spaces where staff can take a few moments to regroup.
"We have ramped up our support services because everybody knows that people are under an enormous amount of stress and anxiety," says Northwell Health Senior Vice President Dr. David Battinelli.
Along With support from clinicians, Northwell Health psychiatrist Dr. Jeff Selzer says the signs of support from the community and sense of teamwork is keeping health care professionals emotionally strong.
"Strong teams, the sense of peer support, the sense of mission and how important it is for all of us to express gratitude to health care workers," says Selzer.
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