Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has put extreme stress on the health care system globally, leading to workforce shortages as well as increased health care worker burnout, exhaustion, moral injury and many forms of traumas. These pandemic-related difficulties have taken place in the context of overwhelming pre-existing workforce challenges and inconsistencies, as well as in a workforce where burnout, stress, and mental health problems were already at high occurrences. Many health care workers experienced being furloughed or having their hours reduced, particularly early in the pandemic when nations were trying to implement mitigation protocols. Total employment in the healthcare industry declined during the early months of the pandemic but has gradually recovered since summer 2020. Federal, state, and local governments took significant action to address the need for prevention and treatment services that arose from COVID-19. This led to the disruptions in health care delivery and finances as a result of the pandemic through supplemental funding from federal relief legislation and easing many regulatory requirements. Even after the pandemic, many of the effects the pandemic has had on the health care workforce will likely persist.
This paper takes a closer look at the power of mattering, the effects of moral injury as related to healthcare workers and the tools needed to begin the healing process.
Keywords: Moral Injury, Healthcare workers, Mattering, Productivity, Healing, Pandemic