WASHINGTON (Jan. 12, 2022)—Even before the pandemic, physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers were struggling with stressful working conditions amid growing shortages of staff. Now, in the midst of the recent surge in Omicron cases, that stress has escalated to crisis levels of stress, burned-out workers and in some cases a condition called moral injury.
The George Washington University has experts available to interview about various aspects of healthcare shortages, stress and burn-out. To schedule an interview, please contact Kathy Fackelmann, [email protected], Lesley Swiger, [email protected] or GW Media Relations at [email protected].
Public Health
Patricia (Polly) Pittman is the director of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity and professor of health policy and management at GW. She can talk about shortages in nurses and other health professionals and stressful conditions in workplaces that can lead to moral injury.
Candice Chen, associate professor of health policy and management at GW, can talk about the mental health issues and burnout that healthcare professionals have faced since the start of the pandemic.
Chen and Pittman and their colleagues have just launched a three-year study of healthcare burnout with an emphasis on finding solutions and tools to combat the stressful working conditions in hospitals, clinics and other healthcare settings.
School of Nursing
Joyce Knestrick, director of nurse leadership management and director of executive leadership associate professor, can discuss how nurses have uniquely been impacted by the pandemic.