Treating Blood Cancers: LLS Podcast Series for Professionals

The LLS Professional Education team provides a range of resources and education for healthcare professionals working with hematology/oncology patients. One of these educational resources is Treating Blood Cancers, a podcast series for professionals. The podcast covers topics such as disease, treatment, clinical trials, heath equity, genomics, and more for those treating all patients with blood cancers, including children and adolescents.

The most recent episode, Supporting Healthcare Professionals to Reduce Burnout.Burnout is common among healthcare professionals; however, concerns about sharing challenges related to burnout make it less likely to be reported. This can lead to a professional being less likely to get the support and mental health care needed to manage existing burnout and reduce future risk. Burnout may not be addressed in medical education and training, but it may affect a large percentage of physicians, advanced practitioners, and medical support providers making it an important aspect of healthcare that should not be ignored.

Dr. Alfred Lee from Yale University addresses stress and burnout in healthcare professionals. While reflecting on his personal experience, Dr. Lee discusses warning signs, symptoms, risk factors, and strategies and resources to help reduce and prevent burnout. He chats with Dr. Ken Miller about how to discuss burnout with trainees and colleagues, focusing on the interpersonal connections in healthcare, taking time for self-care, and the impact of burnout on work satisfaction.

Strategies discussed include individual level interventions like exercise, meditation, and mental health therapy. On the systems level, interventions include increasing efficiency using technology and AI, resilience training, and assessing payment structure for providers.

Additional episodes of Treating Blood Cancers are available HERE. LLS offers fact sheets, continuing medical education programs, connection with clinical trial nurse navigation, and an online patient referral form for healthcare professionals HERE.