Clinicians who provide clinical care for eating disorders (EDs) report stress, burnout, and system-level considerations that contribute to challenges with professional well-being. Yet, there are also positive factors that keep ED clinicians in their roles, though the factors that drive positive workplace well-being have been relatively under-explored in the literature. To elucidate both factors contributing to challenges and positive experiences in the workforce, we set out to explore the perceptions of eating disorder (ED) clinicians about engaging in care for individuals with EDs, and their experiences with their own well-being in the context of providing clinical care. A total of 27 clinicians working in ED services took part in an individual semi-structured interview. Clinicians were asked to share their experiences working with individuals who have EDs, their reflections on factors that contribute to workplace well-being, how they think about culture in their work, and for recommendations to improve clinician well-being and overall clinical care for EDs. Participants also completed online questionnaires assessing professional quality of life and vicarious resilience. Using reflexive thematic analysis, five main themes were identified: (1) Lack of ED knowledge and understanding within the public and healthcare system; (2) Barriers and limitations to providing accessible, appropriate treatment; (3) The value of professional relationships, support, and collaboration; (4) The association between confidence and complexity of clinical presentations; and (5) The links between clinicians’ personal and professional well-being and experiences with provision of care. Our study highlights that when ED clinicians are able to provide care in a manner that is consistent with their professional desires and beliefs, they associate this with their own professional well-being. Conversely, acting in discordance with these values may occur alongside feelings of burnout and moral distress. The results underscore the importance of ED education and training within the broader healthcare context, and highlight clinicians’ lack of confidence in treating complex clinical cases, as well as a perceived reciprocal relationship between professional and personal well-being as factors that can contribute to well-being in the ED workforce. Not applicable.
Hammond et al. (Sat,) studied this question.