Importance of a Culture Committee for Boosting Morale and Maintaining a Healthy Work Environment in Radiation Oncology

Paulina M Gutkin; Madeline O Minneci; John Valenton; Nataliya Kovalchuk; Daniel T Chang; Kathleen C Horst

doi:10.1016/j.adro.2020.07.002

Importance of a Culture Committee for Boosting Morale and Maintaining a Healthy Work Environment in Radiation Oncology

Adv Radiat Oncol. 2020 Nov-Dec;5(6):1115-1117. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2020.07.002. Epub 2020 Jul 18.

Authors

Paulina M Gutkin¹, Madeline O Minneci¹, John Valenton¹, Nataliya Kovalchuk², Daniel T Chang¹, Kathleen C Horst¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
² Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Physics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.

Abstract

During the unprecedented workplace disruption from the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health care workers have been particularly vulnerable to increased work-related stress and anxiety. This may have a negative effect on job performance and personal well-being. Personal safety, job security, and childcare needs are essential concerns that must be addressed by health care organizations to ensure stability of its workforce. In addition, workplace morale is also damaged by the many daily changes brought about by social distancing. Thus, opportunities exist for departments to address the loss of social bonding and cohesiveness needed for successful team building. In this report, we describe the efforts of our departmental workplace culture committee during this pandemic.