Burnout in Social Work

This week we interviewed Angie, a social worker working on an inpatient psychiatric unit who tells us more about her experiences during COVID19 and beyond. Burnout is not a concept unique to physicians and certainly affects all medical specialties. Many clinicians are fearful of being perceived as a patient by their colleagues which serves as a barrier to seeking care. Angie tells us more about her role on the inpatient psychiatric unit, challenges that arise with an interdisciplinary framework with respect to the medical hierarchy, and the inherent emotional challenges that arise when working with mentally ill patients. 0:00 Intro 1:40 The pervasiveness of burnout 05:50 The fear of being seen as a patient if you talk about having burnout with your colleagues 06:46 Angie's role as social worker on the inpatient psychiatric unit 10:10 Challenges within the interdisciplinary framework and medical hierarchy 21:00 Emotional challenges that arise when working with mentally ill patients