IHI: The uphill climb to achieving workplace well-being
UC's Molano discusses insights on encouraging joy in health care settings
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems were under extra strain in recent years, including high staff turnover, staffing shortages and low morale.
The pandemic only exacerbated these issues, highlighting the need for intentional workforce well-being strategies. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) facilitates the Joy & Workforce Well-Being Results-Oriented Learning Network (ROLN), an initiative designed for health care organizations looking to boost joy in work, increase staff engagement and productivity and improve the overall quality of care and experience for staff and patients.
IHI highlighted the experience of several participants in the program, including the University of Cincinnati's Jennifer Molano, MD. Molano said health care staff are often already stretched thin, so efforts at improving joy and well-being in the workforce can sometimes just be an additional task.
“How do you frame this work in a way that it’s not just one other item on the to-do list?” asked Molano, associate professor in UC's College of Medicine.
Some staff members also wondered whether joy was appropriate in a health care setting since they are dealing with many ill people. But Molano noted staff well-being is connected to patient outcomes.
“It was a big aha moment for me that our patients care about [care provider well-being] because it directly affects them,” she said.
Read a previous IHI article featuring Molano published Nov. 21, 2022.
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
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