Why are we feeling this way? 

Working through a pandemic, practitioners have become all too familiar with staff shortages due to COVID-19 sickness and isolation periods for staff and their families.

With the associated increase in covering for others, we can often feel under pressure and at risk of stress and burnout.

The Physiotherapy Board of Australia would like to remind practitioners of the importance of self-care to prevent this.

Self-care is not a one-off ‘luxury’ activity—it’s about creating a plan that will help you focus, make decisions and stay healthy.

So what is burnout?

The Essential Network for Health Professionals (TEN) is an e-health hub developed by health professionals
for health professionals as part of the Australian Government’s COVID-19 response.

According to TEN, burnout is a combination of emotional exhaustion, negativity and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment.

It can develop in response to persistent and unrelenting stress.

Speaking on the Medical Council of New South Wales podcast Burnout: are you at risk—and what you can do about it, Black Dog Institute researcher Dr Peter Baldwin says there are two key indicators of burnout.

‘So the first one is exhaustion, physical and mental exhaustion.

'And then that second factor is disengagement,’ he said.

‘So either not being engaged or involved or connected to your workers as you used to be or you’d like to be or actively avoiding or finding reasons not to talk to particular colleagues and particular patients or finding reasons not to go to work.’

What support is out there? 

TEN offers discreet and convenient access to mental health screening, resources and person-to-person support for healthcare workers.

The digital gateway provides practitioners with a network of support including:

• a self-guided mental health check-up
• connection to one-on-one clinical care, with up to five free sessions with a mental health professional
• evidence-based tools and resources
• peer support
• digital mental health programs.

How can I make a self-care plan? 

TEN recommends four simple steps to create a self-care plan so you can stay healthy as you care for others.

Step 1 is to evaluate your coping skills.

Understanding how you respond to challenging situations is key to this step.

Step 2 is to identify your daily self-care needs.

It’s important to establish what you value and need in your everyday life as well as what is helpful to you when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Step 3 is to reflect, examine and replace.

Reflect: consider your existing coping strategies and what works for you as well as what doesn’t.

Examine: think about what’s stopping you from prioritising self-care in your day-to-day life.

What small steps can you take to make changes?

Who might be able to help you?

Replace: try replacing negative coping strategies with positive ones.

This won’t happen overnight—choose one action at a time and practise replacing it with a positive one.

Step 4 is to create your self-care plan.

Now that you’ve identified your coping skills, self-care needs and potential coping strategies, write them down.

Your needs will change over time, so it’s helpful to look at the plan regularly.

Click here for a template of a self-care plan reproduced courtesy of TEN and to access more resources and click here to listen to the full Medical Council of New South Wales podcast Burnout: are you at risk–and what you can do about it.