Literature Review

Anxiety and resilience in palliative medicine physicians BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care; by Cristhian Alexis Velásquez Marín, Carlos Javier Avendaño-Vásquez; 7/2/24, online ahead of printTo identify the relationship between the degree of anxiety and the capacity for resilience in palliative care physicians ..., [we] included 42 Colombian Palliative Care Physicians and administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Zung Anxiety Scale and the Resilience Scale. Results: 42 palliative care physicians with an average age of 41 participated in the study. Anxious symptoms were present in 100% of the physicians evaluated. Mild or moderate anxiety was identified in 93.7% of the population and 6.3% of people with severe anxiety symptoms. ... Our results reflect that the population of palliative care physicians has a higher risk and exposure to developing anxiety and its adverse outcomes. We found higher anxiety levels compared with other studies so this population requires greater vigilance and intervention in treating and preventing mental health difficulties.Editor's Note: Executive leaders for palliative care services, use this research to be aware of possible stress-related tolls on your palliative physicians and team members. Ask. Generate dialogue. Do not assume that this applies, but rather use it to tune into and improve the support your physicians need. While this research was in Columbia, it resonates a U.S.recurring trend of the unionization of physicians, often related to burnout and stress overload.

Story Rounds inspires real talk by doctors about their toughest work Standford Medicine - SCOPE Beyond the Headlines; by Mark Conley; 6/27/24 Jay Shah, MD, took a deep breath as he stood on the Berg Hall stage and looked out across the crowd. It was made up of 150 of his Stanford Medicine peers, some of them longtime mentors and collaborators. ... Shah had been chosen to lead off the latest rendition of Story Rounds, the WellMD and WellPhD and the Medical Humanities and Arts Program (MedMuse) co-sponsored live storytelling program -- a safe place for MDs, clinical students and residents to share with their colleagues. ... Shah's tale was an impassioned 13-minute story of metamorphosis: Of going from a doctor determined to trudge forward without self-reflection, watching it destroy his marriage and spiral his mental health, to one who recognized the harm in not processing the difficult situations and emotions that come with the job -- such as the pain, guilt and loneliness of losing a patient and feeling like it was all his fault. His was the first of five stories that evening, delivered in a personal storytelling format inspired by Public Radio Exchange's podcast The Moth. It encapsulated a growing movement toward doctors talking openly about burnout, stress and mental health -- and trying to support one another, whether they're a wide-eyed first-year resident or a veteran health care leader like Shah.

'I don't ever trust Epic to be correct': Nurses raise more AI concerns Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 6/14/24 Nurses continue to voice concerns about artificial intelligence and its integration into EHRs, saying the technology is ineffective and interferes with patient care. Nurses from health systems around the country spoke to National Nurses United, their largest labor union, for a June 5 story about issues with such programs as automated nurse handoffs, patient classification systems and sepsis alerts. Multiple nurses cited problems with EHR-based programs from Epic and Oracle Health that use algorithms to determine patient acuity and nurse staffing levels. "I don't ever trust Epic to be correct," Craig Cedotal, RN, a pediatric oncology nurse at Kaiser Permanente Oakland (Calif.) Medical Center, told the nurses' union. "It's never a reflection of what we need, but more a snapshot of what we've done." ... Hundreds of nurses protested AI at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center in April.

3,000+ nurses at 6 Providence facilities to strikeBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 6/10/24 Members of the Oregon Nurses Association are set to begin a three-day strike June 18 at six Providence facilities, in what the union deems the largest nurses' strike in the state's history. The union represents more than 3,000 nurses at the following facilities, according to an ONA news release:

St. Vincent Hospital nurses and the MNA file fifth in series of complaints with state and federal agencies about dangerous patient care conditions that continue to compromise the care and safety of patients admitted to the Worcester-based facility Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA); 5/29/24 As patient care conditions continue to deteriorate at St. Vincent Hospital, the registered nurses and the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) have filed yet another round of complaints to state and federal agencies seeking immediate intervention to protect patients and staff, a situation so dire the complaints include a direct appeal to the Department of Public Health to assign onsite inspectors on a daily basis to ensure hospital administration is providing the resources needed to ensure the safety of all concerned. In fact, the nurses report that DPH has recently been at the hospital investigating yet another serious patient safety incident. Editor's Note: As reported in numerous articles in our newsletter, patient safety and workplace violence/safety issues continue to be key causes for healthcare professional resignations, unionizations, and strikes (ie., nurses and/or physicians). It's time to review your organization's patient safety and workplace violence Policies and Procedures, staff and volunteer trainings, caregiver resources to ensure patient safety in the home, topics like "Abuse and Neglect," and your community's data on workplace safety concerns and community response resources.

Kaiser physicians vote to unionizeBecker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 5/24/24Resident and fellow physicians employed by Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents, a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union. Nearly all participating voters (99%) cast ballots in favor of unionization, according to a May 23 CIR/SEIU news release. The National Labor Relations Board has not yet certified the results. Pending certification, the total percentage of residents represented by CIR/SEIU in California will reach 82%, according to the union.

Nurses’ Union reaches labor agreement with PeaceHealth for hospice, home health workers Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/14/24 After more than a year of negotiations, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) labor union has reached an agreement with PeaceHealth. Priorities among the hospice and home nurses include wage increases, raising safety standards, ensuring affordable and accessible home health care delivery, equitable pay protection and addressing clinical staffing crises by increasing recruitment and retention of skilled caregivers. 

WSNA files unfair labor practice charge against PeaceHealth Southwest after 14 bargaining sessions WSNA - Washington State Nurses Association; 5/9/24 After 14 negotiation sessions for a new contract, WSNA filed unfair labor practice charges against PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center on behalf of the 1,465 nurses the association represents at the facility. Nearly four months after bargaining began, the parties remain far apart on core contract issues like wages, sick leave benefits, and workplace violence prevention. Their previous contract expired on Feb. 28, 2024. ... One of the key issues over which PeaceHealth Southwest has refused to compromise is pay equity for home health and hospice nurses in the bargaining unit. ... PeaceHealth’s proposal would put home health and hospice nurses up to 5% behind their coworkers working at the hospital.

Workers at two Essentia Health facilities file for union representation Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA); by Sam Fettig and Lauren Bloomquist; 5/2/24 Registered nurses at Essentia Miller Hill Surgery Center and nurses and other healthcare workers at Essentia Solvay Hospice House announced this week that they have filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association ... because they want a voice in their workplace to improve both working conditions and how care is provided to their patients. ... At Essentia Solvay Hospice House, workers across the board, including Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Administrative Assistants, Environmental Services workers, and Cooks, filed for a union election.

Penn State Hershey Medical Center nurses ratify new contractNBC WGAL TV 8; by Lori Has More; 4/27/24 More than 2,000 registered nurses working at Penn State Hershey Medical Center have ratified a new three-year contract. The union says their new deal will increase pay rates by an average of 22.5%, include more time off and new initiatives to address staffing needs. Editor's Note: These changes reflect national trends for recent healthcare strikes and high turnover rates: pay rates, work-life balance, and staffing. Additionally, we're seeing demands for improved workplace safety as a common theme for healthcare professionals.

Help Serenity Hospice workers win their unionSEIU503; 4/18/24Workers at Serenity Hospice have been organizing for pay equity, adequate raises, affordable health care, regular hours, PTO, and the ability to manage trauma and compassion fatigue. The workers unanimously decided to form a union, and asked management to voluntarily recognize them. Serenity’s parent company (Addus Healthcare) already has SEIU-represented employees at its home health agency in Eugene. Instead, Addus hired one of the most expensive union-busing law firms in the country, and has been paying them hundreds of dollars per hour to spread anti-union propaganda. Workers are sticking together and staying strong, and plan to vote YES in their union election next week. Editor's Note: Hospice & Palliative Care Today's posting of this article denotes neither support nor opposition to this action. Rather, we are reporting it for hospice and palliative care leadership awareness. Unions and strikes among healthcare professionals--for these same cited reasons--continue to be a growing trend, nationwide.

They work 80 hours a week for low pay. Now, California’s early-career doctors are joining unions Cal Matters, by Kristen Hwang; 4/8/24 ... In some California hospitals, early-career doctors make as little as $16 per hour working 80-hour weeks. It’s training, known as residency, that every board-certified doctor must complete. ... Last week, hundreds of resident physicians and fellows at Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California facilities became the latest to join the wave of medical trainees demanding better pay and working conditions. Their petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board comes after Kaiser Permanente refused to voluntarily recognize the union.