Therapeutic Strategies to Tackle Burnout and Emotional Exhaustion in Frontline Medical Staff: Narrative Review

Daniel C McFarland,1 Fay Hlubocky2 1Department of Medicine, Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, and the Cancer Research Center, Chicago, IL, USACorrespondence: Daniel C McFarlandDepartment of Medicine, Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, Ny, USATel +1 212-434-4460Fax +1 646-227-7283Email danielcurtismcfarland@gmail.comAbstract: Burnout and emotional exhaustion in frontline healthcare workers and their implications for the health of patients, individual clinicians, and organizations are increasingly described among various healthcare settings. Yet therapeutic strategies to address burnout and other work-related conditions are outpaced by innumerable descriptions of burnout prevalence across healthcare disciplines. This review provides a framework that should be helpful in beginning the process of addressing burnout and its related conditions. It begins with an elucidation of key inter-related concepts of work-related conditions that should be considered in the differential diagnosis along with other mental health conditions that are concomitantly elevated in healthcare clinicians (eg, depression and substance abuse) but require a different approach to treatment. Factors that lead to increased resilience, engagement, and thriving in clinical workplaces are considered. While strategies are dichotomized between organizational level interventions and individual or personal interventions to address burnout, the idea of identifying and addressing root causes of burnout and related conditions is highlighted. The efficacy and feasibility of interventions that incorporate mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive behavioral strategies, meaning-centered therapy, and compassion training are highlighted as interventions with proven efficacy and durability that should be considered based on work-related stressors and appeal to clinicians.Keywords: burnout, clinician wellness, clinician well-being, emotional exhaustion, resilience, front-line staf