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Grief on the Front Lines: Doctors, Nurses, and Healthcare Workers Speak Out on the Invisible Wounds They Carry
For readers of Atul Gawande and Siddhartha Mukherjee--a timely, vital exploration of the burnout, grief, depression, and trauma that America’s healthcare system engenders among doctors, nurses, and medical workers.
Practicing medicine is traumatic: coping with the death of a patient, sharing a life-changing diagnosis, grieving futility in the face of a no-win situation. The emotional burden placed on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners is profound...and yet their suffering is often displaced, dismissed, or unrecognized.
Here, Rachel Jones breaks the silence, daring to imagine a future where every healthcare worker is provided with the right tools to process grief, the space to integrate trauma, and--most importantly--the knowledge that they’re not alone. Drawing from the latest research and more than 100 interviews with healthcare professionals across different specialties, backgrounds, and institutions, Jones identifies how US medicine fails its workers--and how it can do better.
Speaking with urgency about the systemic shortcomings that contribute to widespread depression, burnout, suicide, and PTSD among physicians and nurses--a culture of stoicism, the pressure of 80-hour workweeks--Grief on the Frontlines shares the stories of everyday healthcare heroes and offers a glimpse into the educational programs, retreats, therapeutic offerings, and peer support networks already building a hopeful new culture of medicine that cares for its own.
Practicing medicine is traumatic: coping with the death of a patient, sharing a life-changing diagnosis, grieving futility in the face of a no-win situation. The emotional burden placed on doctors, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners is profound...and yet their suffering is often displaced, dismissed, or unrecognized.
Here, Rachel Jones breaks the silence, daring to imagine a future where every healthcare worker is provided with the right tools to process grief, the space to integrate trauma, and--most importantly--the knowledge that they’re not alone. Drawing from the latest research and more than 100 interviews with healthcare professionals across different specialties, backgrounds, and institutions, Jones identifies how US medicine fails its workers--and how it can do better.
Speaking with urgency about the systemic shortcomings that contribute to widespread depression, burnout, suicide, and PTSD among physicians and nurses--a culture of stoicism, the pressure of 80-hour workweeks--Grief on the Frontlines shares the stories of everyday healthcare heroes and offers a glimpse into the educational programs, retreats, therapeutic offerings, and peer support networks already building a hopeful new culture of medicine that cares for its own.
300 pages, Paperback
Published May 17, 2022
18 people are currently reading
2357 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 15, 2022
A book every front line worker should read. Us “Essential” workers who show up to help others, no matter the weather, health risk, or what’s occurring in our personal lives. We show up, again and again, even when we need a break. We expose ourselves to repeat emotional distress, moral dilemmas, and even hostile or dangerous situations. Yet, we are human … and we too have our limits. This book explores the grief, the trauma, the fatigue, and burnout of compassion. Learning to address these things instead of ignoring or hiding these emotions. This is essential to our wellbeing…yet so many times it’s looked down upon. The system is broken and it was never more apparent than the pandemic.
November 29, 2021
When I picked up Grief on the Front Lines, I expected COVID war stories from medical professionals and useful wisdom on handling grief that I might be able to use in my own healing work. After all, these folks work with death every day, they must be super well trained in all kinds of grief counseling and related skills, right?
What I learned was in fact pretty horrifying. While I knew that the US healthcare system is a mess, I never expected some of the bleak facts and anecdotes that I read in this book. Not only is it common for those working with the dying and their families to have NO training around grief, I learned of a toxic hospital culture that's honestly made me terrified to ever have another surgery, medical professionals bullied into suicide and penalized for seeking any mental health services, and a dwindling workforce that's likely to result in a major crisis very soon even beyond the specific impact of COVID.
There are silver linings, of course. Much of the book focuses on solutions and the way different departments are implementing wellness practices and other measures. There are interesting treatments of special topics, as well, including medical aid in dying and palliative care. But my biggest takeaway is that the entire industry is a ticking time bomb, with marginalized providers and patients of course most affected. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with the ability to shape policy, and at the same time I am disheartened that change simply may not be possible in a capitalist context.
The cult of growth Eisenstein lays out in Sacred Economics shows up here in hospitals focused mainly on profits and in medical training that encourages doctors to prolong life by any means necessary. When the goal is triumph over nature, of course, we all lose. People die. Trying to change or delay that fact is not only futile—it's poisoning quality of life for patients and providers alike. This book is a potent reminder that care and capitalism do not mix.
ARC provided by NetGalley for review.
What I learned was in fact pretty horrifying. While I knew that the US healthcare system is a mess, I never expected some of the bleak facts and anecdotes that I read in this book. Not only is it common for those working with the dying and their families to have NO training around grief, I learned of a toxic hospital culture that's honestly made me terrified to ever have another surgery, medical professionals bullied into suicide and penalized for seeking any mental health services, and a dwindling workforce that's likely to result in a major crisis very soon even beyond the specific impact of COVID.
There are silver linings, of course. Much of the book focuses on solutions and the way different departments are implementing wellness practices and other measures. There are interesting treatments of special topics, as well, including medical aid in dying and palliative care. But my biggest takeaway is that the entire industry is a ticking time bomb, with marginalized providers and patients of course most affected. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with the ability to shape policy, and at the same time I am disheartened that change simply may not be possible in a capitalist context.
The cult of growth Eisenstein lays out in Sacred Economics shows up here in hospitals focused mainly on profits and in medical training that encourages doctors to prolong life by any means necessary. When the goal is triumph over nature, of course, we all lose. People die. Trying to change or delay that fact is not only futile—it's poisoning quality of life for patients and providers alike. This book is a potent reminder that care and capitalism do not mix.
ARC provided by NetGalley for review.
June 4, 2022
Overall a well researched and thorough book, although it got a little repetitive talking about burnout in the middle few chapters.
March 6, 2024
I expected this book to be sad and while it was in some aspects due to its ability to highlight the downfalls of our current healthcare system - more than sad it was validating. Having worked through COVID 19 in an ICU so much of this resonated with me.
I loved the idea of a medical pause post code or post death. In the fast paced system we often go from a code immediately to the next patient without taking time to honor the patient that died or reflect.
In the chapter “Connecting Despite the Odds,” I really enjoyed the exploration of treating comatose/semi comatose patients and their families. “Caring for an unconscious patient is a very intimate act.”
Recently, I experienced a case that really triggered me. I love and support Medical Aid in Dying/Physician Assisted Suicide. It was interesting to read different perspectives regarding the topic and the comparison of it to palliative sedation. I’m eager to see how this is further explored. And I hope as I learn more about this it will allow me to heal from the patient case that I dealt with.
This book was pretty good. At times it was redundant and boring but mostly it was validating. Would recommend to anybody in healthcare that is currently trying to find some sort of solace and validation.
Notable Quotes:
P 14 - “for people who are first generation physicians, people who are the only ones in their friend and family circles who are taking this on, I really wonder how they managed to make it through, Verghese said “we don’t have too many healthy ways of processing these emotions.”
P 83 - “While burn out in all specialties can lead to substance abuse, depression, or even suicide, those exposed to trauma are burdened, with that additional stress, as well as the potential to blame themselves for bad outcomes.”
P119 - “Healthcare professionals share with me how incredibly broken they feel, she said they may look OK on the outside but on the inside there’s a depth of suffering that is breathtaking”
P 120 - Staffing issues were jeopardizing, patient safety, and quality of care. “Many of them get into the work because they really care and they want to make a difference,“ Landry said. “So that takes a deep tool on peoples hearts and minds, and creates a great stress.“
P 126 - “While empathy and compassion, inspire many healthcare workers to pursue their role in the first place, it can be difficult to maintain a compassionate stand in a system that emphasizes profit and time management – often at the expense of patient care.”
P 146 - “a nurses approach is just inherently so different from a physicians,” Warraich said. “It leads to that stronger relationship, relationship related and trust and empathy.”
P 159 - “ doctors, nurses, therapists, and others working in critical care, often rely heavily on patients’ family members to connect with the patient.”
P 252 “ healthcare, is kind of like domestic violence, where people stay because we love healthcare, and we love our patients, but it’s really very abusive.”
I loved the idea of a medical pause post code or post death. In the fast paced system we often go from a code immediately to the next patient without taking time to honor the patient that died or reflect.
In the chapter “Connecting Despite the Odds,” I really enjoyed the exploration of treating comatose/semi comatose patients and their families. “Caring for an unconscious patient is a very intimate act.”
Recently, I experienced a case that really triggered me. I love and support Medical Aid in Dying/Physician Assisted Suicide. It was interesting to read different perspectives regarding the topic and the comparison of it to palliative sedation. I’m eager to see how this is further explored. And I hope as I learn more about this it will allow me to heal from the patient case that I dealt with.
This book was pretty good. At times it was redundant and boring but mostly it was validating. Would recommend to anybody in healthcare that is currently trying to find some sort of solace and validation.
Notable Quotes:
P 14 - “for people who are first generation physicians, people who are the only ones in their friend and family circles who are taking this on, I really wonder how they managed to make it through, Verghese said “we don’t have too many healthy ways of processing these emotions.”
P 83 - “While burn out in all specialties can lead to substance abuse, depression, or even suicide, those exposed to trauma are burdened, with that additional stress, as well as the potential to blame themselves for bad outcomes.”
P119 - “Healthcare professionals share with me how incredibly broken they feel, she said they may look OK on the outside but on the inside there’s a depth of suffering that is breathtaking”
P 120 - Staffing issues were jeopardizing, patient safety, and quality of care. “Many of them get into the work because they really care and they want to make a difference,“ Landry said. “So that takes a deep tool on peoples hearts and minds, and creates a great stress.“
P 126 - “While empathy and compassion, inspire many healthcare workers to pursue their role in the first place, it can be difficult to maintain a compassionate stand in a system that emphasizes profit and time management – often at the expense of patient care.”
P 146 - “a nurses approach is just inherently so different from a physicians,” Warraich said. “It leads to that stronger relationship, relationship related and trust and empathy.”
P 159 - “ doctors, nurses, therapists, and others working in critical care, often rely heavily on patients’ family members to connect with the patient.”
P 252 “ healthcare, is kind of like domestic violence, where people stay because we love healthcare, and we love our patients, but it’s really very abusive.”
June 8, 2022
I won an advanced copy of this book on Goodreads. The book mainly discusses burn-out in the medical field, which I suffered from it as well being in the field for a long time. Healthcare workers are really overwhelmed with all the patient care and also with the over regulation (my opinion) in this field, while the administrative staff in health settings seem to just do nothing about it at all. I disagree with the author about how racial minorities can't get health care or it is more limited. I think it has more to do with money and fame rather than race. A wealthy and/or famous individual of any color or race can pay for any healthcare while people without the means can't afford it, it doesn't matter what color or race they are. I am not saying that a poor person of any race cannot get medical care, they can, also there are safety nets in place for people who need the care so they are not denied. I didn't like the quip at the end of the book that President Trump was woefully inadequate in his response to COVID -19. When will be ever learn that we shouldn't rely on the government for all our needs and safety. We personally need to put the onus, responsibility, and decision making back on ourselves as individuals to keep ourselves safe; and the government needs to stay out of our way and we will be fine taking care of ourselves along with our doctors, nurses, techs and other staff. If the final book, when it comes out, can stick to the topic of grief and burn-out which I enjoyed, but leave out the political agenda it pushed on the end it would be much better overall.
May 21, 2022
An excellent and important book. It provided solace and community for me as I grieve the patients I have lost this year.
The one issue I had was the praise of self-care without acknowledgement of its cost. Not only monetary and time, but moral. E.g. one doctor was praised for breaking free from our system that requires visits limited to 20min—she left the OB/GYN practice she worked for and started her own, which allowed her to spend 45min with patients and (I don’t remember the exact words but in essence) “be free from the constraints of accepting insurance.” Her practice sounds lovely…and only accessible to those who can oh out of pocket. I just wished there was acknowledgement of yes self care practices and moments of reflection and taking time are important if not essential, but allocation of resources in that way will always take away from something else. It’s not that the world of healthcare workers doesn’t know that self care helps, it’s that we feel we cannot choose it. And I felt that message was lacking.
Something I loved was the section devoted to talking about important workers such as interpreters and environmental service workers who are impacted by trauma but less frequently acknowledged. I still think about the interpreters who had to relay the difficult news to families during the the peak of the COVID delta surge, and I wonder how they carry that trauma. It was really important to me to see Jones represent these essential workers in this narrative.
The one issue I had was the praise of self-care without acknowledgement of its cost. Not only monetary and time, but moral. E.g. one doctor was praised for breaking free from our system that requires visits limited to 20min—she left the OB/GYN practice she worked for and started her own, which allowed her to spend 45min with patients and (I don’t remember the exact words but in essence) “be free from the constraints of accepting insurance.” Her practice sounds lovely…and only accessible to those who can oh out of pocket. I just wished there was acknowledgement of yes self care practices and moments of reflection and taking time are important if not essential, but allocation of resources in that way will always take away from something else. It’s not that the world of healthcare workers doesn’t know that self care helps, it’s that we feel we cannot choose it. And I felt that message was lacking.
Something I loved was the section devoted to talking about important workers such as interpreters and environmental service workers who are impacted by trauma but less frequently acknowledged. I still think about the interpreters who had to relay the difficult news to families during the the peak of the COVID delta surge, and I wonder how they carry that trauma. It was really important to me to see Jones represent these essential workers in this narrative.
May 18, 2022
Grief on the Front Lines hits on some very important and timely topics in healthcare, such as the need for increased mental health support for staff and the critical shortage of nurses on the heels of a global pandemic that left many, many workers burned out.
I was initially confused by the book’s approach, which is to tell stories through interview excerpts with various front-line healthcare workers. Then I noticed that the subtitle changed prior to publication, making this a bit clearer to prospective readers. Nevertheless, I found it difficult to get through due to the quickly shifting focus from one interviewee to the next. It felt a bit like reading a very long research paper or article.
Readers working in healthcare might find some validating information here. The author clearly went to tremendous effort to coordinate so many interviews and during a challenging time to do so.
Many thanks to NetGalley and North Atlantic Books for the complimentary advance copy of this work. My opinions are my own.
I was initially confused by the book’s approach, which is to tell stories through interview excerpts with various front-line healthcare workers. Then I noticed that the subtitle changed prior to publication, making this a bit clearer to prospective readers. Nevertheless, I found it difficult to get through due to the quickly shifting focus from one interviewee to the next. It felt a bit like reading a very long research paper or article.
Readers working in healthcare might find some validating information here. The author clearly went to tremendous effort to coordinate so many interviews and during a challenging time to do so.
Many thanks to NetGalley and North Atlantic Books for the complimentary advance copy of this work. My opinions are my own.
June 11, 2022
I found this book fascinating and also sad at the same time. I am not in the medical field so it was really impactful to read about the daily struggles health care workers have when it comes to trauma, grief, burnout and depression.
This book was well researched and I found the many viewpoints and interviews very interesting. It shines the light on complex issues that are obviously not adressed when it comes to healthcare workers. Throughout the book there are glimpses of hope as programs have been started to address at least some of the issues they face.
I would definitely recommend this book even if you are not a healthcare worker.
This book was a Goodreads win.
This book was well researched and I found the many viewpoints and interviews very interesting. It shines the light on complex issues that are obviously not adressed when it comes to healthcare workers. Throughout the book there are glimpses of hope as programs have been started to address at least some of the issues they face.
I would definitely recommend this book even if you are not a healthcare worker.
This book was a Goodreads win.
December 28, 2022
This could have been a dry, hand-wringing, sad accounting of the state of our collective medical workers but the author won me over with her profiles of so many of the professionals trying their best to cope, improve, and change the system. Don't get me wrong, I still come away with despair, but I also come away with more compassion for the hospice workers that I volunteer with, the patients and families we serve and all the others that give more of themselves to the service of the dying than they get in return.
August 28, 2025
A book that looks at the trauma and invisible wounds of healthcare workers, recommended by the library by the Grief square for the Summer Book Bingo. I assumed it would be specifically about the trauma, burnout and PTSD of healthcare workers but it also had sections on hospice and pallitive care and the people who work in those fields.
I did like how the author focused on all workers in healthcare, from doctors and nurses to housekeepers and interpreters. Everyone in the healthcare field deserves to tell their story and get help with what they have seen.
3.5 🌟, rounded up.
I did like how the author focused on all workers in healthcare, from doctors and nurses to housekeepers and interpreters. Everyone in the healthcare field deserves to tell their story and get help with what they have seen.
3.5 🌟, rounded up.
March 10, 2023
Big feelings, big tears, and rekindling a lot of memories of my last few years in the ICU. An incredible reminder that nobody in healthcare is really alone in their feelings.
September 9, 2023
I’ve been telling everyone I know to read this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews