Addressing the Well-Being of the ICU Team

Purpose

Address stressors related to workload, well-being, and burnout that are unique to clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted areas of inequities and conditions under which many frontline healthcare professionals work. Ongoing challenges centered around the mental and emotional toll on frontline healthcare professionals caring for critically ill patients. The Well-Being Gap Analysis Toolkit was developed to engage all members of ICU multi-professional teams with ways to support self-care and clinician well-being and promote optimum collaboration among ICU team members.

Populations of focus

Essential and frontline workers

Partner

Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)

Description

The Well-Being Gap Analysis Toolkit provides guidance and best practices for when physical and mental health of clinicians may be jeopardized by environmental stressors in the ICU. The toolkit asks the user a series of questions related to the areas below and proposes personalized solutions for the team based on the answers provided. Areas addressed include:

• Workload and job demands
• Efficiency and resources
• Control and flexibility
• Work-life integration
• Social support and community at work
• Organizational culture and values
• Meaning in work
• Ethical community

Developed by and for ICU multi-professional team members, the resource embodies the meaningfulness of incorporating health equity strategies to support the well-being of frontline healthcare professionals, the organizational structures in which the ICU team works, and clinicians’ sense of place within the organizational structure. More on well-being resources can be found on the Society of Critical Care Medicine webpage.