Barbara Karnes writes booklets for Healthcare Workers, Hospices, and Deathcare workers. I have used many of her resources on death and dying as a chaplain.
If the following quote resonates with you, then check out the full article on healthcare worker burnout and maybe look into her booklets as well.
Dear Barbara, I work as a hospitalist primarily in an oncology and palliative care unit. I am drawn to end of life care and have had an intense but extremely rewarding career. However, over the past year things have changed. As a hospitalist we all rotate through Covid units. I am comfortable with end of life care –it’s my calling in medicine. But covid death is different for me in so many ways. Also, the high patient loads, the increased stress, working short handed when coworkers get Covid, the preventable (by vaccine) deaths, the constant background anxiety is finally taking its toll. I feel unbelievably burned out. I am not finding joy in my work that I have always loved. I feel like I have lost my passion and am becoming less able to focus and put the energy into the work I have done without any problems for years.
