Employee Recognition & Engagement Resources

If you’re human, chances are you’ve suffered from burnout at least once in your professional career. But, the good news is it probably never put anyone’s life in jeopardy. However, the same can’t be said for workers in the healthcare industry. At any moment, their decisions can make the difference between life and death.

Unfortunately, burnout rates in the medical industry are among the highest on Earth. Luckily, there are steps your healthcare organization can take to significantly reduce employee burnout, and it all begins with employee engagement and recognition.

Here’s what you need to know.

Over the past few weeks, we at C.A. Short Company have focused exclusively on the role employee engagement plays in the healthcare industry. And, that’s because there’s a very good reason to do so. When healthcare employees are engaged, diseases decrease, profits soar, and lives are saved.

We have covered mortality rates, hospital-acquired conditions, medical errors, nurse and physician burnout, turnover rates, and the list goes on and on. While employee engagement in the healthcare industry is an incredibly serious matter, we’ve decided to have a little fun today, while also testing how well you’ve been paying attention.

You can take our 10-question quiz, “How Much Do You Know About Employee Engagement in Healthcare,” below.

“To save lives.”

Over our 80-year history in the employee engagement industry, we’ve spoken with thousands of healthcare workers. From doctors and nurses to CEOs of the nation’s largest healthcare providers, we always like to ask, “Why did you enter healthcare?” The answer is almost always the same – to save lives!

Patients desperately seeking treatment wind up getting worse, not better. Good nurses and doctors who sacrificed their lives to pursue a career in healthcare get so burned out they leave the industry they once loved. Hospitals that once prospered by providing their community with state of the art care now shutter their doors because they can no longer afford to operate.

These are not hypothetical scenarios, they’re what we’ve seen happen far too many times. Yes, we’ve seen the opposite too. C.A. Short Company has been blessed to work with some of the nation’s leading hospitals – ones who decided employee engagement would be a top priority and not just a bullet point on a meeting agenda.

This article isn’t about them -- or for that matter -- us.

It’s about what happens when employee engagement isn’t a priority. It’s about what happens when well-intentioned folks cause more harm than good. But, above all, it’s about how there’s still time to do better.

The decision to enter the Healthcare Industry isn’t one that’s made lightly -- the shifts are long, the demands are high, and the sacrifices are many. So, when someone chooses a career in healthcare, chances are, it isn’t because they’re fascinated with profit margins or have a deep passion for reducing operating costs. More than likely, it’s because they want to change the world by saving one life at a time. But, the truth is, these are not mutually exclusive ideas.

When people think of safety in the workplace, their minds tend to drift to images of construction workers wearing hard hats or researchers walking around in giant hazmat suits. Sure, these are very important safety practices, but the truth is, there is so much more to safety than just wearing protective coverings. This is especially true in the field of healthcare, where if proper safety protocols aren’t followed, injuries occur, diseases spread, and patients die.

The long hours in school…the even longer hours at work. All that time you spent putting others first wasn’t so you could get rich and work a comfy schedule. No! You entered healthcare to make a difference in the world, to help strangers in need, and – above all else – to save lives!

“As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

The above quote comes from the late Maya Angelou. Her touching words help illustrate the great importance nurses have in our healthcare system. And since Maya’s mom was a nurse, she likely had some understanding of the many challenges they face.

While an overwhelming majority of nurses love their occupation, the long hours and lack of engagement in the workplace are causing many to burn out and leave the industry. Luckily, there is something we can do about it!

Before we get into HOW to solve the problem, let’s take a closer look at the latest findings.