Dr Liz Crowe

RBWH Staff Wellbeing Specialist Dr Liz Crowe has been awarded the 2022 Australian Critical Care Research Excellence Award for her article, Critical care staff wellbeing: A new paradigm for understanding burnout. The research is part of Dr Crowe’s PhD study.

Dr Crowe’s research involved surveying 250 ICU staff members and measuring burnout, psychological distress, satisfaction with life and how meaningful they found their work. Surprisingly, the research found that burnout and psychological distress were lower than previously reported and that burnout can occur simultaneously with high satisfaction with life and finding work meaningful.

A group of international reviewers found that the paper made novel and significant contributions to the understanding and interventions of burnout in the critical care environment, allowing for the development of more effective interventions.

Dr Crowe said she is thrilled to win the award and hopes it educates healthcare staff on wellbeing and burnout.

“I commenced this study prior to COVID, when for the first time the wellbeing of staff was receiving attention,” Dr Crowe said.

“Burnout prevalence was being reported as high at 80 per cent, which was confusing to me as I had worked in health for a long time, was aware of the challenges but also really loved my career. When I did a literature review on the subject of burnout I saw that prevalence rates were dramatically variable from 0 per cent of burnout to 80-90 per cent and I was curious to learn more.

“We found that what staff understood to be ‘burnout’ differed greatly from person-to-person. They might mean that they are tired or frustrated, or they might be bored. We also need to take the time to reflect on what is going well, what we enjoy in our work and what it means for people to belong to a great team with a leader that has their back – these things are very protective of burnout.

“Burnout is not an individual problem and often stems from systemic problems and a negative work environment. I hope my research changes the way clinicians and leaders think about wellbeing within health.”