Unfortunately, burnout comes with intangible symptoms that we do not see every day. High levels of stress are documented among staff in the radiology department, and it seems there is an urgent requirement for intervention to be implemented.
A national survey was conducted in Italy to measure the risk of burnout among radiographers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of burnout was very high during the pandemic, but results also showed that this risk was high even before COVID-19 emerged.
It is very useful for radiology departments to become aware of these statistics, as they can acquire the power to manage the problem and implement strategies to minimise this risk of burnout.
A wide-world problem is that there is insufficient funding for mental health services and staff are overburdened, thus they are unable to provide the support to medical professionals - the opportunity to seek health is limited.
Therefore, it is crucial that more resources are invested into training the health workforce, so that colleagues are able to spot the symptoms of burnout and ensure there are processes in place to manage the situation. Colleagues may understand better the critical issues that one experiences at work and they may be able to provide suggestions on how to work better or more peacefully. Consequently, it is imperative for colleagues to learn and trainon these issues, in order to increase group identify, mutual trust and rediscover what it means to work in a supportive team.
Overall, it is important that wellbeing is emphasised,as mitigating the risk of burnout prevents a negative cycle; if the quality of the working conditions is improved, the wellbeing of the radiographer improves, and thus the safety of the patient is ensured.
References:
Cornacchione P (2023) European Society of Radiology (ECR). ECR Austria.
