Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1398595
38 PATIENT & CAREGIVER EXPERIENCE Gender, relationship status, age linked to worse work-life integration for physicians By Kelly Gooch A mid the demands of today's healthcare environ- ment, physicians at times must choose between prioritizing work or home responsibilities. And physicians who are women, single, age 35 years or older, and who work more hours and nights on call per week, have a particularly harder time with integration of these worlds, according to a study published May 27 in JAMA Network Open. The study examined survey data of 4,370 U.S. physi- cians. Surveys were administered from October 2017 to March 2018, and data analysis occurred from November 2019 to July 2020. For the study, researchers assessed work-life integration scores of participants based on an eight-item scale. They said participants were asked about their sleeping and eating patterns during the last week, as well as how often work forced them to change personal/family plans and how often they felt frustrated by technology. Researchers found that women reported lower mean work- life integration scores than men overall (52 vs. 57). They also found that being age 35 to 44; working 50 to 59 hours per week vs. less than 40 hours per week; and working more call nights per week were factors associated with lower work-life integration, independent of other personal and professional circum- stances. Across specialties, emergency medicine and urology physicians had the lowest scores overall, accord- ing to the study. Work-life integration "is an important aspect of physician well-being, but physicians have differing experiences of WLI by gender, age, relationship status, specialty and work hours," the study's authors concluded. "Women physicians consistently report lower WLI across a range of ages, chil- dren's ages and work hours. This study's findings suggest that systemic change is needed to enable physicians to achieve appropriate integration of work life and home re- sponsibilities." n Hospital leaders are losing physician trust: 4 tips to change that By Hannah Mitchell N early a third of physicians lost trust in their hospital's organizational leadership during the pandemic. A 15-year study of 3,200 leaders found four ways for CEOs to earn and retain trust from their staff, according to a June 11 report by Harvard Business Review. Ron Carucci is the co-founder and managing partner at organi- zational leadership consulting firm Navalent, which works with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change. Mr. Carcucci's research has indicated that if executives follow these four steps, they'll be 16 times more likely to earn and keep the trust of others. Four tips: Assert your values and live up to them. CEOs may say they value compassion, but their staff will look at their actions. Mr. Carucci used the example of a car accident: If your first response upon hearing the news is, "How bad is the dam- age?" instead of, "Was anyone hurt?" your commitment to compas- sion may appear thin. Your staff will judge your trustworthiness by the extent to which your actions match your words. Treat others and their work with dignity. In hospitals, oentimes clinicians' value is weighed by the work they produce. It's important to treat your staff and their work with dignity. People are more likely to trust managers who are courteous when referring to their work and acknowledge it as a distinct part of what they do. Determine when it's appropriate to be vulnerable. Opening up to your staff and disclosing information that helps people learn can gain trust. However, it's not always appropriate to share every detail. Hospital leaders can retain staff trust when not disclosing private information by being transparent about why they can't share those details. Build an environment of unity in your hospital. As hospital CEOs take stances on controversial topics and hospitals adopt hybrid work models among some departments, some staff may feel alienated. Hospital leaders should unify their organiza- tion by implementing strategies such as turning department rivals into accomplices or making your staff feel safe to bring their whole selves to work. n