Supporting the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Playbook
The Supporting the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Playbook walks you through key steps to assess, plan and implement an organization-wide strategy that supports the current and long-term mental and emotional health of your workforce. Practical examples from the field are provided, with contact info so you can reach out to learn more. Download Supporting the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Playbook here (PDF)
Click here to view a list of resources the working group has curated and shared.
2021 Webinars
Where We Are Now (Video)
July 28, 2021
Supporting Staff During and After the Chauvin Trial
March 23, 2021 | 12:15-1:00 pm CT
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leaders in healthcare share how they have built up and centered their efforts over the past year, and how they are now targeting support for people during this time of continued racial tensions and unrest. Watch the recording “Supporting Staff During and After the Chauvin Trial” here.
Many thanks to the panelists:
Allina Health
- Jacqueline Thomas-Hall, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director
- Kerri Gordon, VP Government & External Relations
M Health Fairview
- Myat T.Tun, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager
- Erich Stolz-Spencer, System Executive HR & DEI Strategy Director
Key Takeaways
DEI must be centered and also be top-down; you must have leaders involved and advocating for these efforts. Implicit bias training, listening sessions and healing spaces/courageous conversations – with guidance and tools – help people learn how to sit with discomfort, learn, and agree to disagree agreeably.
Key terminology to note includes:
- The “death of George Floyd” vs the “murder of George Floyd”: Organizations need to take a stand on what they will say, even though not all staff may agree.
- It’s the Derek Chauvin trial, not the George Floyd trial.
Specifically this spring, Allina Health has:
- Engaged an attorney to help with a Separating Facts from Fiction series: Employee Sessions to understand what to expect and what you may hear during the Chauvin Trial.
- Planned an upcoming week-long reflection around the anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
M Health Fairview is:
- Partnering with DEI, Spiritual Health, and EAP partnership to offer Healing Space Conversations.
- Planning reflection activities during George Floyd’s death anniversary and for Juneteenth.
Substance Use Disorder and Recovery for Physicians
March 9, 2021
Michael Koopmeiners, MD, is the Medical Director of Physicians Serving Physicians (PSP). Physicians Wellness Collaborative, a program of PSP, provides independent, confidential counseling and peer support resources for all Minnesota physicians, residents, and medical students.
Dr. Koopmeiners shared tips for identifying and addressing substance use disorder. Watch the webinar here.
Key Points
- There’s a tendency to sweep early warning signals under the rug
- Notice: need to move upstream of crisis to help physicians struggling
- Look at how the system contributes, it always does in some way
- What is the system willing to do differently?
- Peer support specifically for physicians is very effective.
Clinicians’ experience during the pandemic: Resource limitation and disrupted roles
January 13, 2021
Featuring Catherine (Kate) Butler, MD, MA, Nephrologist, Bioethicist and Acting Instructor at the University of Washington.
Dr. Butler’s team studied clinician experiences around the country regarding resources allocation during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a link to the JAMI Network open paper. Watch the webinar here.
Some key themes:
- Difficulty in adapting crisis standards theory to practice and explaining new practices to patients
- Unexpected types of resource allocation and scarcity
- Difficulty in keeping boundaries between work and home
- Internal and external conflict on professional duties and personal protection
- Better collaboration and sense of camaraderie, but also fractured relationships
- Excitement in helping to save lives but also coming to terms with providing a different and sometimes substandard type of care
- Both positive and negative emotions in work – often not mutually exclusive
The results are divided into two themes:
- Practice settings for crisis planning
- Impact on clinicians on professional roles and relationships
Download a summary of the January 13 Webinar (Word document)