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Abstract

Employees today are constantly facing change; in the work that they do, how they perform the work, where the work is performed and with whom they work with. Some employees thrive in chaotic and stressful environments while others burn out after several months or years. What are some of the human attributes that enable some to be resilient while others burnout? Research on burnout and compassion fatigue among healthcare workers is high, ranging from 30-50%. The consequences of burnout and compassion fatigue include negative effects on personal health, social relationships and a reduced ability to deliver effective and safe care to patients. Reported key risk factors for burnout and compassion fatigue are environmental stressors (e.g., traumatic events, competing demands between family and work) and human traits (e.g., personality, poor decision-making abilities). Interestingly, burnout and compassion fatigue does not occur in every healthcare worker as there are frequent news reports of those who continue to find joy and satisfaction in their job despite its stresses. These observations suggest that some healthcare workers possess certain attributes rendering them more resilient to environmental stressors with subsequent protection against burnout and compassion fatigue compared to others in similar environments. Hence there is a strong possibility that high human resilience could be associated with lower risk of burnout and compassion fatigue. This session discusses the initial research findings of possible human attributes and situations modulating resilience and whether interventions aimed at building human resilience can be effective vaccines against burnout and compassion fatigue.

Biography

Angelina Chan is a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of Trauma Recovery & Corporate Solutions, Singapore Changi General Hospital (CGH). Over the last two decades, she has been involved in services development/delivery at the National and hospital level, and research in the area of psychological trauma, crisis and early intervention mental health programs. Apart from her involvement in disaster mental health, she oversaw the implementation of the Singapore Ministry of Healthâ??s (MOH) Hospital Based Integrated Mental Health Teams, set up the CGH Psychotraumatology Service and was awarded MOH funding to set up Peer Support Programs in all the local public hospitals.