Parker, Kirstyn M
(2024)
Enhancing the Outpatient Staff Experience at UPMC Department of Medicine.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
Hospitals and clinics have faced significant challenges in maintaining sufficient staffing for decades; staff shortages have continued to rise since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 due to employees leaving their professions. The increase in COVID-19 cases resulted in a heightened demand for healthcare services, coupled with a decrease in available staff, limited resources, and a continual reduction in usable clinical space. As healthcare facilities became overwhelmed, employees found themselves being forced to extend their working hours, fighting a highly contagious illness for which no cure was readily available. Given the nature of their work, frontline staff members were exposed to increased risks while caring for these patients, leading to many falling ill and needing to quarantine themselves further limiting staff levels.
The heightened workload, compounded by sleepless nights and the constant exposure to patient mortality, has prompted many frontline staff members to resign, due to mental health issues and severe burnout. Additionally, some clinical employees are hesitant to return to work, deeming the compensation and benefits insufficient to justify the daily risks they face. Although the pandemic is now under control and clinical appointments are returning to in-person care, the lasting effects are evident in the shortage of frontline clinical staff. Many employees remain absent due to burnout, a lack of work-life balance opportunities, safety concerns, career dissatisfaction, insufficient recognition and support, a problematic organizational culture, and, most significantly, inadequate compensation for the demanding work. To achieve proper staffing levels, we must first address and combat the underlying systemic issues within our healthcare system, such as access to care, health disparities, cost, and preventive health measures.
This essay aims to connect the following three projects, all undertaken to enhance the outpatient experience for employees within the DOM. These projects include implementing a Physician Educator Position for all Outpatient Centers within the DOM, training outpatient medical Assistants to perform Venipuncture, Injections, and Immunizations in hospital-based clinics (HBC), and improving the outpatient Rheumatology staffing model.
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