Health workforce : challenges for occupational mental health

Health workforce personnel frequently view their own needs as secondary, making the patients they care for their priority in terms of the work/ life interface. Nurses constitute the bulk of the health workforce and may face many challenges to their mental health and wellbeing. These include "burnout", long hours, violence, feelings of helplessness, and the stresses associated with increasing and new demands, an ageing workforce and high expectations from the public. A range of issues also confront medical practitioners, both in general practice and hospital-based/specialist care sectors. While services exist for impaired practitioners, there is a need for prevention and process assessment, and intervention programs that deal with systems, culture and stressors, promote resilience, and assist with more proactive strategies. Key principles for occupational mental health and safety for the health workforce are proposed.