Covid-19 has forever changed how clinicians deliver quality care. As the healthcare landscape continues to shift, one thing is certain: Clinicians across the country have risen to this seemingly insurmountable challenge and continue to provide life-saving care in the face of incredible adversity. Anesthesia clinicians are no exception.
Adapting anesthesia when it mattered most
“The Covid-19 pandemic revealed what’s possible and what anesthesia clinicians can do,” says Jay Mesrobian, MD, chief clinical officer of TeamHealth Anesthesia. “I don’t want to ever lose sight of the fact that during the pandemic, anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified anesthesiologist assistants were the ones on the front line as much as any other specialty.”
While the pandemic has allowed anesthesia teams to showcase their adaptability and strength, it also has opened conversations around clinician well-being. Healthcare facilities have relied heavily on anesthesia teams to support expanded clinical functions. Especially during the beginning of the pandemic, airway/proning teams were vital to facilities across the country as the number of intubated patients climbed. While this support was indispensable, it took a toll on anesthesia clinicians.
“It’s brought further into the light existing stresses in our clinicians. This has allowed us to develop enhanced wellness support to make sure they are healthy in every way,” Mesrobian says.
Clinician wellness is always a priority
The additional stressors that Covid brought continue to increase instances of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder among front-line clinicians. To combat these and safeguard clinicians’ wellness, TeamHealth added touchpoints for clinical teams. Focus shifted to well-being tactics like educational webinars, care packages, and wellness checks.
Enhanced protocols have become more common during the pandemic, but TeamHealth has always been clinician-focused. As a physician-founded company, physical and psychological health remain top priorities. At all levels, it’s understood that to take care of patients, clinicians must take care of themselves first. “The long-standing prominence of clinician support in our company is a testament to our commitment to well-being, from senior leadership to our front-line clinicians,” Mesrobian says.
TeamHealth has a deep-rooted culture of clinician support. Across all specialties, clinical teams receive local, regional, and national support to empower the delivery of exceptional patient care. During the early days of the pandemic, national resources were particularly valuable, as TeamHealth mobilized clinicians to travel to pandemic hot spots, organized the distribution of personal protective equipment, and provided weekly guidance for clinical and administrative operations.
Ensuring ongoing support for anesthesia teams
In anesthesia, ongoing support means equipping teams with strong on-the-ground leadership. At Teamhealth, anesthesiology senior leadership invests significant time and attention into placing the right facility medical directors and chief anesthetists in each role while facilitating sustained leadership development and growth to build capable and engaged teams.
It’s not just leaders who benefit from the culture of support. TeamHealth Anesthesia’s national scope allows clinicians to find the right fit for their lives and career goals. “The last thing I want is for a clinician to feel like a cog in the wheel. I want them to feel a part of the value we add to hospitals,” Mesrobian says.
With a large national footprint, TeamHealth offers secure, meaningful anesthesia career opportunities. From small community hospitals to large metropolitan systems, clinicians can rely on scalable, world-class clinical operations. The support clinicians receive allows them to prioritize their desired lifestyle when considering career options. This is particularly useful for anesthesia clinicians, as they can customize their career to desired geography, case mix, specialization, volume, and more.
The freedom from administrative burden is likewise invaluable. TeamHealth’s administrative and operational support means that clinicians are free to focus on patient care and safety. It also means that clinicians can focus on operating room effectiveness and improving perioperative processes, exemplified by TeamHealth clinicians’ industry-changing research and best practice creation.
Building strong anesthesia teams and careers
We understand that passionate and skilled anesthesia clinicians are foundational to ensuring exceptional patient care and experiences within successful surgical programs in hundreds of client sites across the country. In the Chicagoland area, TeamHealth is currently looking to grow its team of high-performing anesthesia clinicians at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
TeamHealth always seeks the best and brightest for nationwide teams. Whether anesthesia residents looking for their first career opportunity or seasoned anesthesia clinicians seeking new possibilities, there is something for everyone with TeamHealth Anesthesia both across the country and locally at Advocate Sherman Hospital.
