The Sonographer’s Guide to Fighting Fatigue at Work
At BB Imaging, the health of our sonographers is directly related to the health of our company, our patients, and our providers' clinics. So, we’ve made it our mission to ensure these valuable professionals stay healthy in both body and mind.
What follows is a helpful guide for:
Understanding fatigue at work
Identifying the signs and symptoms
Preventing burnout and advocating for resources
Seeking professional treatment
Defining Work-Related Fatigue
What is fatigue? Most people know they are fatigued when they feel tired, weary, or sleepy. This feeling usually follows prolonged mental or physical activity, loss of sleep, or extended periods of stress. While this understanding of fatigue is true, it’s far from comprehensive.
Fatigue is a highly complex phenomenon, with a wide range of symptoms and causes. It can occur at the individual, interpersonal, or work level—or all three. And sometimes, it can be hard to separate the symptoms and causes into neat buckets, because work fatigue is influenced by personal and interpersonal situations, and vice-versa.
A related term to fatigue we’re all familiar with is “burnout.” Formally known as occupational burnout syndrome, burnout gives us a word to use when specifically discussing work-related stress that isn’t being successfully mediated.
Burnout in Healthcare
You don’t have to scroll through news sites for long to realize that burnout rates in the clinical environment are skyrocketing. You probably don’t have to go to news sites at all—you’ve likely seen, heard, and felt it in your own workplace.
Burnout in healthcare can be especially problematic because of its impact, not just on the individual experiencing burnout, but also on others. Burnout has been shown to:
Increase the risk of work-related accidents
Increase practitioner injury
Result in poorer patient outcomes
Result in longer inpatient stays
Slow healthcare team reaction times
Increase error rates
Burnout in Sonography
Among sonographers specifically, fatigue can cause missed pathology, misinterpretation of images, a reduced level of patient care, and poor interpersonal skills.
This is why keeping sonographers from feeling fatigued is so important. Unfortunately, the industry’s efforts in this area haven’t been especially successful on a broad scale.
A 2022 study examining the causes of sonographer burnout found two main areas for improvement: workload and circumstances related to adverse news. Other studies back up these concerns. Cohen et al found that increased workloads led to physical symptoms including eye strain, muscle aches and pains, carpal tunnel syndrome, and (you guessed it) fatigue. In addition, a 2018 study by Johnson et al found that delivering adverse news contributes to anxiety and depression.
The ultimate impact of sonographer burnout is made clear in a study released earlier this year by My Tran, MS, RDMS, RVT.
When asked to provide the likelihood of leaving the profession as a sonographer...
24.3% answered strongly agree
43.8% answered agree
That means nearly 70% of survey respondents expect to leave the sonography industry rather than making it a life-long career.
Again, when asked if they were currently considering leaving the profession...
16.2% strongly agreed
28.9% agreed
That means more than half of those who expect to leave the industry are currently considering a transition to another profession. This may go without saying, but if those numbers hold, we’re looking at a dire scarcity of ultrasound services.
Symptoms and Signs of Burnout
Because it is complex, burnout has a variety of symptoms and can manifest itself differently in different people. We’ve compiled a list of common symptoms below, but it isn’t exhaustive. See if any sound familiar:
Personal
You don’t have energy for leisure activities
You’re experiencing eye strain or muscle aches and pains
You’re experiencing headaches or stomach problems with no known cause
You’re using food, drugs, or alcohol to feel better or numb how you feel
Interpersonal
You feel removed from the people you work with
You lose patience with co-workers
You find it difficult to communicate compassionately with patients
Workplace
Your working hours and overtime have increased
You’re performing an increased number of scans per day or week
Your responsibilities don’t align with your capacity
You’re experiencing an increase in exposure to stressful situations
Your productivity or task capacity is greatly reduced
You feel tired before arriving at work
You feel mentally or emotionally drained during work
You feel worn out or weary after work
You’re questioning the value of your work
You feel cynical toward your occupation and removed from your work
You find it difficult to focus on the task at hand
You feel little to no satisfaction from your accomplishments
You feel let down by your job
You’re doubting your skills and abilities
Preventing and Treating Burnout
Now that everyone is on the same page regarding the seriousness of this issue, let’s see what we can do to curb that trend and help our nation’s sonographers experience burnout-free work lives.
On a personal level, sonographers have a lot of options when it comes to preventing feelings of burnout:
Eating a nutritious diet
Exercising regularly (bonus points if you go outside!)
Practicing good sleep hygiene
Engaging in a stress-reduction activity like deep breathing, yoga, or meditation
Starting a regular self-reflection practice
Caring for your body while you’re at work by practicing healthy ergonomics
Taking time off before burnout sets in
If PTO isn’t an option, try taking a break without using PTO
On an interpersonal level, sonographers (like everyone else!) need community. Sometimes talking about issues helps us to release the stress associated with those issues. Try these burnout-relieving conversations:
Talk to peer sonographers
Talk to other healthcare team members
Form a support group, even if you can only meet for a few minutes each day
Connect with a friend or family member
Now we come to the workplace. The work environment can feel out of our control, but there are usually some things you can do to advocate for improvements:
Reach out to your supervisor and request decreased hours or workload
Ask the human resources department for employee resources
Participate in organizational initiatives where you can make your voice heard
Advocate for mental health benefits and mindfulness training
Ask for and assist in setting protocols for delivering adverse news
Seeking Professional Help
Don’t skip this section! We know it can be difficult to ask for help, especially as a professional caregiver, but we all need help sometimes. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not of weakness.
Here are a few signs that it’s time to be strong and ask for help:
You experience symptoms of anxiety including an increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, and feelings of nervousness, even outside of stressful situations
You regularly experience symptoms of depression including social withdrawal, poor sleeping, weight changes, or aches and pains
You experience feelings of sadness or guilt and a sense of loss regarding formerly enjoyed activities
You experience feelings of apathy and hopelessness or thoughts of suicide
Seriously, don’t skip over this. If the cost of seeking professional help is a barrier, ask your HR representative about mental health benefits – you may have free access to resources. If you’re not sure where to go, see this list of top-rated online therapy options—many have coupon codes available.
What would you add? Are there symptoms we missed? Do you have suggestions for prevention and treatment? Let us (and the sonographer community) know in the comments!
Please note: Information in this blog post should not replace the advice of a physician or mental health expert.