Small habits can go a long way in keeping teams from burning out, leaders say.
By Alyx Arnett
As healthcare technology management (HTM) roles grow more complex, the risk of burnout continues to grow. It’s a dynamic Courtney Kinkade, vice president of organizational learning and workforce strategy at TRIMEDX, is watching closely.
“A key concern is the cumulative mental strain created by the perfect storm of increased workloads, staffing challenges, and the rapid introduction of new technologies,” says Kinkade. “This can create a heightened sense of pressure and anxiety across teams.”
David Ochs, division president of healthcare technology management company Intelas, sees it too. “We’re trying to figure out ways to help people with workload and stress,” he says.
The solution, he says, is not a single fix. Here are five approaches Kinkade and Ochs say can help reduce burnout risk.
Burnout Looks Different for Everyone
Ochs says burnout rarely presents the same way from one employee to the next. “Burnout can show itself in many different ways, and it comes at different stages in your career, different times in your life,” Ochs says. “There are external forces that drive it.”
Ochs says leaders should watch for changes in attendance and team participation. “If people are calling off more often than not,” he says, “that’s an indication.” He also points to technicians who become less connected to their peers. “The biomed shops are tight,” he says. “If they’re kind of not participating as a group, that’s an indication.”
Kinkade adds that other warning signs include “declines in key performance indicators and prolonged overtime hours.”
Additionally, what counts as “too much” varies from person to person. Ochs says managers should try to understand what’s driving that feeling. “Is it you’re doing twice as much as you did five years ago, or is it what you have to do with each thing is more complex?” he says. “What’s too much for me might be different than you. Understanding what’s the ‘too much’ is probably important for us to figure out.”
He also notes that burnout is not always driven by workload alone. Stressors outside of work may also be contributing factors.
Communication Is Key
Kinkade says one of the biggest mistakes organizations can make is waiting until employees are already experiencing burnout before discussing well-being.
“Leaders should treat well-being as an ongoing conversation,” Kinkade says. “Regular check-ins, both in one-on-one and team settings, help normalize these conversations and keep well-being top of mind.”
Ochs points to short team huddles as one approach, especially during demanding periods such as preventive maintenance (PM) pushes. “You have to communicate with them,” Ochs says. “Be with them in the shop, talk with them, get them together.”
Kinkade says engagement surveys and direct check-ins can help leaders identify problems early. Ochs says Intelas uses engagement surveys, one-on-one conversations, and operational measures such as PM completion rates and PTO use to help identify employees who may be struggling.
Still, Ochs says metrics can only go so far. “Beyond that, just having a conversation with them can help.”
Technology Can Reduce Friction
Technology can be part of the solution, says Ochs. He says organizations can look for opportunities through technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce administrative burdens and help technicians work more efficiently.
With those goals in mind, Intelas developed a mobile app intended to help technicians close work orders faster and support troubleshooting. One use case involves AI analyzing historical repair data and suggesting a likely failed component based on the reported problem.
“When it’s broken in this way, [the app says] it’s this part that needs to be replaced,” Ochs says. “So the technician is now going up to the floor with that part, with the belief that they might be able to fix it on the first visit.” He adds, “If we can increase first-visit repair, that’s a win for everybody.”
The company also has a client-facing version designed to make it easier for clinicians to submit work orders and track their status.
Kinkade says some of the tasks that contribute to burnout—“such as documentation, data cleanup, and device manual search”—stem from inefficiencies in existing workflows. “AI can close those gaps,” she says. As one example, she says AI tools can generate troubleshooting instructions based on manufacturer specifications, reducing the time technicians spend searching through manuals.
Still, Kinkade says organizations should implement AI tools carefully to ensure they simplify work rather than create new complexities. She also recommends regularly reviewing internal processes to determine whether they have become unnecessarily complex.
Training and Staffing Must Keep Pace
As HTM responsibilities continue to expand, Kinkade says investing in training can help ensure technicians have the skills needed to do their jobs and reduce pressure on teams.
One example of those changing demands, she says, is cybersecurity. “Cybersecurity has added a significant new layer of responsibility.” But she says, “formal training pathways have not always kept pace. This forces technicians to build new competencies while continuing to meet daily demands.”
To help address that gap, TRIMEDX has invested in cybersecurity programs designed to give technicians foundational skills.
At the same time, Kinkade says organizations must work to address staffing shortages, which she calls a “major contributor” to burnout. “As experienced HTM professionals retire, the loss of institutional knowledge can put more pressure on remaining team members to perform at a higher level while also supporting less experienced colleagues,” she says.
Ochs says addressing those staffing pressures requires finding new pathways into the profession. TRIMEDX and Intelas participate in an apprenticeship program with AAMI and aim to retain those who complete it. Intelas expects 13 apprentices in its next group.
Intelas also recruits from adjacent technical fields to expand the pool of potential HTM talent. Ochs says someone who has worked with electronics, for example, may be a strong fit for HTM. “There’s less people in the market today, and so everyone’s fighting for the same talent. Our job is to figure out how we can find more,” he says.
Kinkade adds that reducing turnover outside of HTM can also help reduce pressure on teams. “Turnover in clinical roles can disrupt relationships and workflows, requiring HTM teams to repeatedly rebuild trust and operational continuity with new clinicians,” she says.
Employees Need to Feel Supported
Ochs says employees are more likely to avoid burnout when they feel supported by their leaders. Visible leadership becomes especially important, he says, when repairs become difficult or clinical expectations are high.
“The technician needs to know that the leadership has their support in getting that fixed,” he says.
Kinkade says leaders should know team members as people, not only as employees. Building those relationships, she says, can help employees feel supported and make it easier for leaders to respond when problems arise.
For Ochs, helping employees feel valued and successful in their work remains one of the most important aspects of preventing burnout.
“The ultimate goal is, how do we help people feel like they’re providing great work,” Ochs says, “and that we’re supporting them through that?”
