Environmental Factors Impacting Wellness in the Trauma Provider

Abstract

Purpose of Review The purpose of this review is to evaluate the recent literature on environmental factors impacting wellness for the acute care surgeon. This includes factors influencing physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Recent Findings Recent studies have identified challenges to surgeon wellness including increased incidence of sleep deprivation, musculoskeletal pain and injuries, pregnancy complications, moral injury, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and burnout. Qualitative studies have characterized the surgeon’s emotional response to occupational stress, adverse events, and surgical complications. Further descriptive studies offer interventions to prevent moral injury after adverse events and to improve surgeon work environment. Summary Acute care surgeons are at increased risk of sleep deprivation, musculoskeletal pain and injury, pregnancy complications, moral injury, PTSD, and burnout. Surgeons experience feelings of isolation and personal devaluation after adverse events or complications, and this may lead to practice limitation and progression to PTSD and/or burnout. Interventions to provide mentorship, peer support, and education may help surgeons recover after adverse events. Further study is necessary to evaluate institution-driven interventional opportunities to improve surgeon well-being and to foster an inclusive and supportive environment.

Sleep Quality as a Mediator of Burnout, Stress and Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain in Healthcare Workers: A Longitudinal Study

“…Using mediation analysis, Walton et al [ 63 ] found that the association between perceived stress and pain intensity was wholly mediated by sleep interference [ 63 ]. Another study investigating the environmental factors that affect the well-being of critical care surgeons found that they were at increased risk of sleep deprivation, musculoskeletal pain and injuries and burnout [ 64 ], where sleep-associated problems seemed to precede low back pain and exhaustion in the working population [ 65 ]. Thus, it seems that stress and sleep management, as well as ergonomic interventions, post the COVID-19 pandemic are urgent in healthcare services and can help to improve musculoskeletal health.…”