Abstract

Zoom Fatigue (ZF), or physical and neuropsychological responses to excessive videoconferencing (VC), increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like burnout, ZF can compromise patient safety by causing decreased job satisfaction, social isolation, disrupted focus, and difficulty empathizing with patients. This Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement project aimed to assess feelings about VC, raise awareness of the adverse effects of overuse, and empower primary care providers (PCPs) to improve their work experiences. A group of on-site PCPs at a tertiary care medical center in the Southwest, who continued holding exclusive virtual team meetings after the pandemic, was asked to complete the 15-question Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale (ZEFS) to evaluate their perceptions of VC before and after a ZF lecture. On-site gatherings were reinstated alongside virtual meetings to gauge the group's interest in hybrid meetings. Live attendance showed minimal interest in resuming in-person meetings. ZEFS scores were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, with medians showing no significant improvement in VC sentiment (p < 0.05). However, the results suggested that participants may have become more aware of their physical and emotional responses to videoconferencing. A Microsoft Teams poll at the project’s conclusion revealed a slight preference for restarting in-person meetings (60%). Results suggest that hybrid meetings could be beneficial and preferred by some PCPs. Considering the Quadruple Aim, optimizing health system performance requires not only improving population health, patient experiences, and reducing costs but also enhancing the work lives of healthcare providers. Addressing factors like ZF that threaten this goal should be prioritized.

Language

English

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

College of Nursing

Keywords

Zoom fatigue, coping mechanisms, in-person meetings, videoconferencing, hybrid meetings

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