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Chapter 23 - Workforce and Physician Health

from Section 5 - Transforming Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2025

By
Kevin Teoh  and
Shriti Pattani
Edited by
Richard Pinder ,
Christopher-James Harvey  and
Ellen Fallows
Richard Pinder
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Christopher-James Harvey
Affiliation:
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London
Ellen Fallows
Affiliation:
British Society of Lifestyle Medicine
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Summary

Healthy clinicians are more likely to provide better care for their patients.

However, they often face serious health challenges themselves, which often stem from both personal lifestyle behaviours and work-related factors. Some of the common problems include burnout, stress, fatigue, musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. To address these issues, interventions need to adopt a comprehensive approach that incorporates Lifestyle Medicine principles, such as nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and social support. These principles can help healthcare workers improve their health behaviours and cope with the demands of their work. However, personal interventions are not enough. There is also a need for organisational support and policy changes that create a healthier work environment for healthcare workers. This includes supportive leadership, flexible work schedules, adequate staffing, and access to wellness programmes. By improving the health of healthcare workers, interventions can also have positive impacts on patient care and healthcare costs.

Keywords

Healthcare workforcePsychological distressMusculoskeletal disordersLifestyle MedicineWork-related stressBurnoutOccupational factorsOrganisational interventionsWork–life balanceSelf-care
Type
Chapter
Information
Essential Lifestyle Medicine , pp. 249 - 258
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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