Hon left her job as a nurse due to the work environment. Now she is researching stress and burnout among healthcare professionals and is convinced that the work environment must be changed.
When the National Healthcare Competence Council presents its report on approximately 13,000 people leaving the healthcare system, it does not surprise Emma Brulin, a lecturer in occupational medicine at Karolinska Institute. She leads several research projects on how doctors, nurses, and nurse assistants experience their work environment.
In one of the latest surveys, 16 percent of the nurses responded that they think about leaving the profession several times a week. Work overload is one of the factors that keeps recurring as a cause. A high percentage of healthcare professionals experience stress-related illness. Emma Brulin points out inadequate leadership as a crucial factor.
Emma Brulin knows what she's talking about. She herself is a trained nurse but left the profession after a few years.
The National Healthcare Competence Council has presented several proposals in its report on how regions and municipalities can get more people to stay within the healthcare system. The possibility of further education and competence development is highlighted as a decisive factor.
There is a lot of talk about creating an attractive workplace for nurses and doctors. In a new study, Emma Brulin and colleagues will investigate what it actually means – both for the healthcare professionals and for the employer.
