Eating out on a Friday night, going to the gym for a workout class, family reunions, working Monday to Friday and much more were common activities many of us took for granted not too long ago. In the span of a couple weeks, or even a few days, that all changed. Restaurants and gyms closed, limits were placed on the amount of individuals allowed in social areas, many people became unemployed and everyone’s way of life changed in some way. The way of life we had grown accustomed to was replaced by the “new normal." As important as it is to focus on the now, we also need to take a look at what could happen down the road. In some areas, things are reopening and we will eventually return to some sort of normalcy, which means returning to work or returning to a normal case load for a large number of hand therapists.
Returning to work can bring a new sense of joy and purpose and a return to the old way of life; however, that can quickly change if the amount of work that needs to be completed increases. The demand to recapture the lost time will be significant. There will be a lot of crucial decisions that need to be made quickly to have a shot at success. With all of this work to be completed in such a short amount of time, many hand therapists could quickly experience frustration and burnout.
Burnout is a feeling of emotional exhaustion. It does not develop from a sole trigger, but instead develops from a wide variety of variables. There are often unrealistic caseload expectations and having to take work home. This can lead to an imbalance of home and work duties, as well as fatigue. These variables quickly add up and affect everyone differently. Additionally, in the time of COVID-19, there is an added fear/anxiety related to our health and protecting ourselves, our families and our patients. This is an unprecedented time and, unfortunately, it’s new territory for us all.
So, what can we do to better prepare ourselves and outsmart this? Listed below are a few ideas to help keep us as hand therapists mentally healthy, happy and fulfilled.
- Develop a regular exercise routine.
This could be anything from a morning run to a yoga session to a bike ride. Anything that takes your mind off work and allows you to focus your energy in a positive way can help. There is an abundance of research supporting exercise improving mental health. So, whatever you enjoy doing to move your body could then lead to better care for our patients.
- Utilize video calls with family and friends.
Catch up with longtime friends or chat with family members virtually. Taking time away from work to chat with people you love can help get your mind off of work and connect you to your loved ones during quarantine.
- Find a new hobby to take your mind away from work stressors.
Ideas include learning how to play a new musical instrument, taking a cooking class online, crafting or updating something in your house. This will help you use critical thinking skills that hand therapists naturally have, as well as take your mind off of work and put it towards something productive.
- Mindfulness and deep breathing.
If you’ve never tried meditation, there are many free apps out there that help teach you how to do this. (Headspace and Calm are two popular ones.) A mindfulness practice helps lower anxiety and can help center your for your work as well as anything in life.
- Laugh
It’s hard to feel stressed when you are laughing. Watch a funny movie or comedy special. Laugh with friends and family (at a distance of course).
- Use this experience to find efficiencies in documentation, patient treatments and home program development.
Finding the positive in tough times is the key to success. Using these challenges to develop new efficiencies is a great spin on this difficult time. Create a new form that makes it easier to send for prior authorization, digitize therapy content for patient use, fabricate supply item that can be used more easily when it gets busy.
- Don’t forget you are not alone!
We are all in this together. If you are reading this, you are a part of our ASHT community and that is a wonderful asset. Collaborate with other therapists on how they are getting through these new challenges. Lean on others when you need help and reach out to other hand therapists to share your experience and knowledge.
As healthcare providers, we all have a responsibility to provide the highest level of care to our patients. We also have a responsibility to ourselves to make sure we are healthy, both mentally and physically so we can be the best therapist possible for our patients. Sometimes that means saying no to taking on more responsibilities and taking time for yourself. As your community and your hand therapy practice ramps back up, make yourself a priority too. Taking care of ourselves is one of the best ways to avoid burnout, handle the stress of a global pandemic and continue to provide quality care to our patients!