Strength For Serving

Health care providers in general, and those who work with the underserved in particular, are at risk for provider burnout and compassion fatigue. Many healthcare clinicians put the needs of their patients before their own, often to the detriment of their own health and wellness.

Strength for Serving, an ACU project, grew out of our recognition of the needs of medical providers serving the underserved and the complexities of our health care system. By promoting professional health and wellness, we believe that many "occupational risk factors" can be altered, and that clinicians can effectively overcome and prevent the isolation and burnout associated with health care practice.

Through its focus on Strength for Serving, ACU hopes to:

• identify the risk factors of working with the underserved
• identify tools to help create and sustain a healthy work environment
• recognize the signs of burnout and compassion fatigue
• link providers to resources to help evaluate work-place wellness
• provide resources for administration and staff to develop wellness programs within a health system
• link staff interested in the topic to other people with similar interests
• share promising practices implemented in clinics which serve the underserved

For more information on the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved and Strength for Serving, please contact Lois Wessel, CFNP.

Resources

Article
Stress and Provider Retention in Underserved Communities(PDF) *
A. Seiji Hayashi, MD, MPH, Emily Selia, MPH, Karen McDonnell, PhD

Tips for Handling Stress - Lists 30 things you can do immediately to reduce stress.
 

*Reprinted with permission from Meharry Medical College, the copyright holder for the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.