As the holiday season approaches—traditionally one of the busiest and most emotionally demanding times in healthcare—burnout once again takes center stage. But while burnout often gets framed as a personal issue, it’s increasingly clear that it’s also a staffing problem. Clinicians are facing mounting pressures, and healthcare organizations are struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels.
To meaningfully address burnout, we must look at both sides of the coin: how facilities staff smarter and how clinicians set boundaries to protect their mental and physical health.
Burnout Isn’t Just a Buzzword
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress—and it’s pervasive in healthcare. A recent study from the American Medical Association found that nearly 63% of physicians experienced burnout in 2022, a sharp rise from pre-pandemic numbers. Nurses, allied health professionals, and support staff are similarly affected.
But focusing only on individual coping mechanisms misses the bigger picture. Burnout is not just a personal failing or inability to “handle stress.” It’s often a result of systemic issues like understaffing, poor work-life balance, inflexible schedules, and unrealistic workloads.
Why Burnout Is a Staffing Problem
Staffing issues are at the heart of many burnout cases. When teams are short-staffed, the remaining clinicians must take on more shifts, see more patients, and manage higher stress loads. Over time, this creates a cycle of burnout and attrition: burnout causes turnover, and turnover leads to more burnout.
Some of the most common ways poor staffing contributes to burnout include:
- Excessive overtime due to chronic understaffing
- Last-minute scheduling that disrupts personal lives
- Lack of float or backup staff to provide relief
- Minimal autonomy in shift selection or scheduling
In high-demand seasons like the winter holidays, these pressures only intensify. Flu surges, increased ER visits, and staff taking time off create a perfect storm of overwork and emotional exhaustion.
How Healthcare Organizations Can Staff Smarter
Tackling burnout requires organizations to rethink their staffing strategy. That means moving beyond reactive scheduling and investing in sustainable workforce planning.
Some proven tactics include:
- Partner with Staffing Agencies for Flexibility: Staffing firms can be powerful allies, especially during peak times. Using locum tenens or per diem professionals helps fill gaps, ease workloads, and maintain continuity of care. It also gives full-time staff breathing room. Here’s how locum tenens can help prevent burnout.
- Use Data to Forecast Demand: Don’t wait for a staffing crisis to hit. Use historical data to predict patient volume spikes and proactively schedule extra help. Seasonal staffing models can ease pressure and prevent burnout before it starts.
- Encourage a Culture of Balance: Organizations must normalize taking breaks, using PTO, and setting limits on shift lengths. A culture that values balance is more likely to retain its staff—and keep them healthy.
- Invest in Wellbeing Resources: From mental health support to financial wellness programs, organizations should offer tools that help clinicians stay resilient. But these resources only work when workloads are manageable. Wellness initiatives must be paired with real staffing support.
What Clinicians Can Do: Setting Boundaries That Protect Your Health
While systemic change is essential, clinicians also need tools to protect themselves from burnout on a personal level—especially during the emotionally charged holiday season.
Here are a few ways to establish boundaries:
- Prioritize Work-Life Balance: Easier said than done, but still crucial. Set clear start and end times, take your scheduled breaks, and make time for personal care. Read this guide on creating better work-life balance.
- Say “No” When You Need To: It’s okay to turn down extra shifts if you’re already running on empty. Taking care of yourself ensures you can keep taking care of others.
- Recognize the Warning Signs: Exhaustion, cynicism, detachment, and decreased performance are all red flags. If you notice them in yourself or a coworker, it’s time to speak up or seek help. Nurses, here’s how to spot and avoid burnout early.
- Use Your Support Systems: Lean on coworkers, mentors, friends, and family. Burnout thrives in isolation—don’t try to tough it out alone.
A Shared Responsibility
Burnout is not just a personal issue. It’s a workplace health issue. It impacts quality of care, patient safety, and the overall effectiveness of healthcare organizations. Heading into the holidays, now is the time to look critically at how we staff, support, and protect our healthcare workforce.
By prioritizing both smarter staffing and stronger personal boundaries, we can start to break the burnout cycle—together.
Need help staffing smarter this season? All Medical Personnel partners with healthcare facilities across the country to provide reliable, flexible workforce solutions. Whether you need temporary help or long-term support, we’re here to ease the burden—so your team can focus on what they do best. Get in touch with All Medical Personnel today!
