Reigniting the Flame: Moving from Burnout Toward Resiliency at an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center

iIntroduction/i: Resilience and burnout are current healthcare buzzwords. Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to create programming to improve healthcare worker resilience while minimizing burnout symptoms in the workplace environment have increased exponentially. Informal, grassroots effort gave rise to a robust resiliency committee and the development of a Division of Employee Resiliency entirely dedicated to building employee resilience and preventing burnout at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Buffalo, NY. iMethods/i: Qualitative data was obtained through conversations with multidisciplinary staff members to understand organizational strengths and growth areas. The Mini-Z 2.0 survey was offered to all employees to understand the experience of joy at work, supportive environment, and pace and stress. iResults/i: Qualitative findings indicated that while serving patients and focusing on the mission are consistently identified strengths, concerns about workload, recognition, work relationships, fairness, autonomy, and values conflicts exist. Quantitatively, scores on the Mini-Z suggests that employees do not experience a joyful workplace, working in a under supportive environments, do not have manageable stress and pace, and experience burnout symptoms. iDiscussion/i: A strategic approach combines individual interventions with programmatic and organizational initiatives designed to support systemic change. As burnout and moral distress remain high due to evolving stressors and challenges, tracking burnout, and implementing system-level change, based upon quantitative data and qualitative accounts, may improve workplace culture, promote individual resilience, and improve patient outcomes.