Community

Addressing Clinician Burnout Through Communal Healing

The COVID-19 pandemic put an extra strain on Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) healthcare workers. Over half of all clinicians grapple with burnout symptoms, i.e. fatigue, detachment, depression, mental health decline, and medical errors. The American Medical Association noted that Black physicians (37%) and physicians who identify as two or more races (45%) report the highest rates of burnout onset or increase due to COVID-19.

Published

2 years ago

October 11, 2023

Oakland Post

Dr. Uzo Nwankpa found that practicing her own Igbo cultural heritage helped her recover from professional burnout. Courtesy photo.

By Dr. Uzo Nwankpa, DNP, MSN, RN

The COVID-19 pandemic put an extra strain on Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) healthcare workers.

Over half of all clinicians grapple with burnout symptoms, i.e. fatigue, detachment, depression, mental health decline, and medical errors.

The American Medical Association noted that Black physicians (37%) and physicians who identify as two or more races (45%) report the highest rates of burnout onset or increase due to COVID-19.

How do we prioritize the well-being of healthcare workers who put their lives on the line for our communities?

As a community health nurse and nursing instructor, I have witnessed burnout symptoms steal the light away from current and future healthcare workers.

I started my nursing journey in an ICU in 2008, facing constant life-or-death scenarios. Surrounded by fatigued, overworked, and undervalued colleagues, I experienced the brokenness of the culture of our medical system. Our healthcare workers need attention.

My journey began 25 years ago, as a young, newly arrived and under-resourced Black immigrant. I faced immense challenges that put me at risk. The relentless dance with assimilation, altering everything from my speech to my mannerisms, was exhausting and lead to years of depression and anxiety.

Family, friends, and my connection to my cultural practices were critical to my healing, empowering me to overcome many obstacles and enabling me to earn my first college degree. Firsthand, I have learned that the societal risk factors we face can be mitigated by protective factors.

One protective factor was reconnecting with my heritage, which provided me with a sense of empowerment. Memories of my ancestral homeland would resurface to remind me of the joys of meaningful interpersonal connection, intentional music to ward off ailments, nourishing meals to rejuvenate the senses, and laughter and tears flowing freely.

Deprivation of these cultural experiences in our modern lives may disrupt our spiritual well-being.

Utilizing African-indigenous cultural wisdom can offer relief among African descendants, Afro-diasporic seeds, and Black folk. In West Africa’s Igbo language, Agwu embodies the inspirer of talent, directing our focus toward artistic pursuits like music, dance, and storytelling.

Tuning into the rhythmic language, the beats of the ogene (metal gong), and the udu (clay pot) charges me up, nurses my cultural longing, and informed the development of the RICHER model-a five-step process to create community healing spaces.

Communal healing sessions utilize this model to support BIPOC healthcare workers in being seen, heard, and affirmed, and incorporates indigenous African healing practices like music, dance, mindfulness, storytelling, and expressivity. These communal sessions yield transformative results, as participants emerge feeling connected, lighter, and inspired to re-engage their restorative work.

Such self-care and strong interpersonal relationships are vital, and the onus shouldn’t fall on individuals alone. Organizations that employ healthcare workers must proactively prioritize well-being and burnout prevention initiatives. At the community level, policies and funding that support mental and emotional well-being are necessary to address this national priority.

Amid the pervasive issue of burnout, communal healing stands out as a beacon of hope and source of rejuvenation. By nurturing caregivers, revitalizing minds, and reigniting spirits, we have the opportunity to reshape the future for our clinicians and communities. Together, let’s revitalize our healthcare environment and elevate healthcare workers to optimal well-being in mind, body, and spirit.

Author Bio

Dr. Uzo Nwankpa is the founder and CEO of Wellness Promoters LLC (ww.wellnesspromoters.net), which partners with organizations to address clinician burnout. Dr. Uzo’s expertise lies in community healing sessions, especially for historically-marginalized community and healthcare workers.

Dr. Uzo is a collaborator of the Bay Area Chapter Association of Black Psychologists (BACABPsi), a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com and join us at our monthly chapter meetings every third Saturday via Zoom.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

East Bay Center for the Performing Arts to Host Fall Gala

Don't Miss

North Carolina Republicans Implementing ‘Secret Police’ Force

Oakland Post

Click to comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

6 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke