The issue of burnout was prevalent in medicine prior to the pandemic, but COVID-19 pushed oncology professionals to the brink, as they had to manage patient care while managing a virus that they knew very little about.
Human resources (HR) directors from multisite oncology practices discussed their approach to addressing burnout at the Community Oncology Alliance Meeting last week in Washington, DC.
“Although the world kind of stopped for a period, oncology and cancer care didn’t stop. So we had to continue to go on day-to-day regardless of what was put in front of us,” said Steve Kennedy, senior vice president of human resources at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville.
In the months that followed, the immediate effects became clear with understaffed practices because of the Great Resignation, initially caused by COVID-19 and burnout. HR teams needed to assess burnout to retain employees and attract new ones. They started by surveying staff.
Desiree Johnson, MHA, SHRM-SCP, director of human resources at Oncology Consultants which has several sites in the Houston, Texas, area, said that the surveys force practices not to guess or make assumptions about staff morale. Instead, the leadership team can receive direct feedback about staff experiences and mood as well as what is and is not working.
“Then we can customize and change to help [our staff] resolve these [issues], which is very important. I think having their pulse was very helpful to us,” she said.
For multisite practices, burnout can vary — especially in different areas. For example, staff at one of Texas Oncology’s Dallas cancer centers will likely experience different challenges than staff at the Sweetwater practice in West Texas.
“We conducted [our employee opinion survey] across the state and by doing that, we’re able to see where there are different pockets within our various regions and our different functions, so that we can tailor those approaches. [Burnout] does impact everybody a little differently, and it does impact the culture across the sites,” said Elizabeth Spurlock, MA, PHR, Director of Human Resource Business Partners at Texas Oncology Dallas.
The findings from the surveys helped these centers identify where improvements could be made. Some efforts included leadership courses in empathy, more open conversations about mental health, and increased remote working capabilities.
“I think what’s important is that you can have all the data in the world, but what you do and how you act on that data is most important,” said Kennedy.
Johnson said that Oncology Consultants is in the process of finalizing the addition of funds for childcare, which she thinks could be helpful in retaining nurses or encouraging more to join the team. She also noted that they are putting more measures in place through staff check-ins and data analytics to assess burnout and staff morale across the practice’s sites.
“I’m very excited to see, maybe in six months, the feedback from our staff on how they are feeling,” she said.
Going forward, Spurlock said that truly addressing burnout will require a cross-collaborative approach of continuous assessment and embedding lessons learned.
“It can’t just be an HR thing or an HR answer. It has to be for the whole team, and I think everyone has those different perspectives on what worked and what didn’t work,” she said.
None of the panelists reported any relevant financial disclosures.