A Partnership with Rural Critical Access Hospitals to Create Interventions into Working Conditions to Prevent Burnout

Researchers: David Beard (Professor of Rhetoric, Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, University of Minnesota Duluth); Kim Dauner (Associate Professor of Healthcare Management, Department of Economics and Healthcare Management, University of Minnesota Duluth); Julie Slowiak (Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Duluth); and Kathryn Van Wert (Assistant Professor of English, Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, University of Minnesota Duluth)

An interdisciplinary team works with critical access hospitals in Ely, Grand Marais, Bigfork Valley, and on the Iron Range to study and develop interventions to address the burnout crisis in rural healthcare. Rural healthcare workers suffer stressors greater and unlike those faced by urban counterparts, forcing many to leave the profession, which creates pressure on those who remain. Building on a 2023 survey of 224 employees and on qualitative listening sessions at these hospitals, the team engages descriptive research on-site, evaluating uses of teamwork, time, workflow, and technology to identify pinch points that create stress upon workers. Then, the team tests (a) systemic interventions (in processes and leadership) and (b) individual interventions (e.g., peer-to-peer strategies delivered as part of licensure-mandated, accredited continuing education). Throughout, partners of Wilderness Health, a nonprofit organization in rural healthcare in NE MN, and in the Education Dept. at Aspirus St. Luke’s guide our work.