April Kapu on nurses and other health care workers facing severe exhaustion and burnout and the shortage of employees in health care facilities.

"While the worst days of COVID-19 pandemic are hopefully behind us, there is an urgent need to attend to physicians who put everything into our nation’s response to COVID-19, too often at the expense of their own well-being," said American Medical Association President Dr.

Tait Shanafelt, professor of medicine and chief wellness officer at Stanford Medicine in Calif., has been leading a study that examines well-being among physicians and workers in all other fields in the U.S over three-year intervals, starting in 2011.

Said a professor of medicine and the chief wellness officer at Stanford Medicine in Calif., "The stark increase in physician burnout over the last 12 months is alarming and has critical repercussions.".

"The stark increase in physician burnout over the last 12 months is alarming and has critical repercussions for the adequacy of the physician workforce, access to care and care quality," Shanafelt told Fox News Digital. .

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) declared physician burnout a national crisis prior to the COVID-19 pandemic — and released a report in 2019 on ways to combat it

Doctors' and nurses' "passion to care for others shouldn't come at the cost of their safety, health or well-being," said the National Academy of Medicine

"The nation’s health depends on the well-being of our health workforce," Murthy said in a release. 

Health care burnout has ripple effects on the nation’s public health infrastructure, according to the surgeon general's advisory. 

But health care burnout also has ripple effects on the nation’s public health infrastructure. 

"The highest rate of suicide is among physicians, so recognizing the early signs of physician burnout and providing resources to alleviate physician fatigue is critical."

Among the goals from the AMA is supporting telehealth, reforming Medicare pay, opposing "inappropriate scope expansions" by non-physicians, decreasing prior authorization burdens — and reducing physician burnout and the stigma of mental health issues. 

It includes supporting telehealth, reforming Medicare pay, opposing "inappropriate scope expansions" by non-physicians, decreasing prior authorization burdens and reducing physician burnout and the stigma of mental health issues. 

"The highest rate of suicide is among physicians, so recognizing the early signs of physician burnout and providing resources to alleviate physician fatigue is critical in all aspects of medicine for best patient outcomes — and ultimately the overall health and well-being of a physician," she said