How Recognizing Outstanding Efforts in Mental Healthcare Can Benefit Patients, Providers

Acknowledging exceptional healthcare providers is essential to improving patient outcomes and boosting morale among healthcare professionals. This is especially true in mental healthcare, where patients require both medical attention and emotional support.

Studies show that the right structure, process and outcomes ensures excellent healthcare quality. Therefore, healthcare organizations must prioritize recruitment, resources, and process optimization to achieve optimal clinical outcomes.

The healthcare industry is struggling to recruit and retain skilled professionals, resulting in a shortage of healthcare workers. Physician burnout and turnover rates are particularly alarming, with nearly two-thirds of the U.S. experiencing burnout. Burnout can have a big effect on how productive an employee is, especially in mental healthcare, where it can cause medical mistakes and lower the quality of care. Recognizing your medical facility's employees is a key strategy to combat this issue.

The Importance of Recognizing Outstanding Mental Healthcare Providers

Recognizing exceptional mental healthcare providers can lead to improved patient outcomes. Patients tend to have a better experience when they feel appreciated and valued. Acknowledging the efforts of mental healthcare providers can enhance the quality of care provided and, in turn, lead to better patient outcomes.

It's innate human nature that makes people desire appreciation for their work. Employee recognition strongly encourages great work and employee engagement. Recognizing mental healthcare providers can also boost morale and job satisfaction among healthcare professionals.

Creating a company culture that rewards and acknowledges employees for their exceptional efforts makes a significant difference. Recognizing the outstanding efforts of mental healthcare providers can bring numerous benefits. Here are four of them:

• Improved Job Satisfaction: Regular verbal praises, rewards, awards, or any other kind of acknowledgment improve providers' job satisfaction. Eventually, that helps to reduce physician turnover and related costs.
• Increased Employee Engagement: Stress, burnout, and turnover are major reasons behind the low engagement of clinicians. However, recognition can increase physician engagement and motivate them to give their best.
• Improved Patient Safety: Through recognition, you can build great environments where physicians can easily communicate, engage, and provide high-quality care. In such an environment, fewer mistakes are made, which leads to increased patient safety.
• Increased Public Awareness: Recognizing the efforts of mental healthcare providers can help reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues. Mental health plays a crucial role in overall health, and recognizing the efforts of mental healthcare providers can promote public awareness and support for mental healthcare services.

How to Recognize Efforts in Mental Healthcare

There are several ways to recognize outstanding mental healthcare providers.

• Healthcare organizations can establish a merit-based awards program integrated into the performance evaluation system.
• Organizing appreciation events, like luncheons or dinners, is also a great opportunity to share their experiences and strategies, learn from each other, and celebrate their accomplishments.
• Healthcare organizations can encourage patients to provide feedback and write reviews of their mental healthcare providers that can be shared on the organization's website or social media platforms.
• Healthcare organizations can also collaborate with an awards company to provide customized recognition products, such as trophies, plaques, and awards, that recognize the exceptional efforts of mental healthcare providers. These customized recognition products make recognition more personal and meaningful.

Mike Szczesny is owner and vice president of EDCO Awards & Specialties, an awards company and supplier of employee recognition products, branded merchandise and athletic awards.