RESUMO
Nurses are at high risk of burnout and subsequent mental health concerns due to problems with overstaffing, immense workload volume, and personal health risks associated with the job. Effective mental health treatments are available but potential barriers to receiving care may prevent nurses from benefiting. The Emotional Health and Well-Being Clinic (EHWC) at Houston Methodist is an outpatient mental health clinic offering therapy and medication management services for employees and employee dependents of our institution. The EHWC is uniquely positioned to observe how nurses utilize mental health services and to address barriers to effective care for this vital group of healthcare professionals. This paper provides descriptive data on the utilization of mental health services by nurses in the EHWC and a discussion of possible challenges faced by this group when seeking care. Based on these data, we propose potential solutions to ensure that nurses can achieve maximum benefit from outpatient mental health services.
RESUMO
Health care workers experience high rates of burnout and psychiatric distress. A large health care system in the southwest United States developed a comprehensive mental health service model for employees. Services offered range from traditional benefits (eg, Employee Assistance Program), resiliency and well-being initiatives, and innovative technology solutions, to access to peer support services for professional practice issues. The latest innovation in services is a free, self-insured outpatient mental health clinic designed exclusively for health care workers and their dependents. In this article, the authors describe the development of expanded mental health programming for health care workers and discuss how this unique service model proactively reduces common barriers to the receipt of high-quality care. This approach to caring for the workforce may serve as a model for other health care organizations across the United States. By providing mental health support to employees, health care organizations are mitigating the risk of burnout and related consequences to the system.