Medical Group Offers Steps to Address Physician Burnout
Framework and Principles on Well-Being Aim to Benefit Patients and Strengthen Health Care Systems
Physician burnout continues to be a pervasive issue, with more than 50 percent of doctors reporting problems such as dissatisfaction, high rates of depression, and increased suicide risk. To address it, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine—a group of medical educators, academic leaders, and wellness research experts from across the country co-chaired by Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Well-Being and Resilience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—has presented a framework for individuals, organizations, and health systems.
“The Charter on Physician Well-Being,” published online in JAMA on Thursday, March 29, at 11:00 am EDT and supported by the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges, is a model for health care organizations to develop regulations and policies that align with best practices for promoting physician well-being; identify strategic priorities and interventions that maximize meaningful engagement and job satisfaction; build partnerships with local and national groups that support advocacy efforts and collaborative solutions; and guide individual physicians in their own practices in service of both patient needs and individual fulfillment.
“Each day our physicians and clinicians care for patients and families in need in a constantly changing health care system,” said Dr. Ripp. “They are driven in this pursuit, often putting the patient first, but in some cases they suffer burnout and depression from overwhelming demands. The providers themselves also need to be supported in their mission with adequate resources and effective tools to promote well-being—ultimately, they and the patient will benefit.”
“The strength of a health care system is reliant on the health and well-being of our clinicians, faculty, and students,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, President for Academic Affairs at Mount Sinai Health System, and a renowned expert on the psychobiological mechanisms of human resilience to stress. “This is an important priority for Mount Sinai and many institutions across the country. This Charter provides a blueprint for addressing burnout and developing programs that optimize physical health and well-being.”
Charter co-authors are Colin P. West, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, and Larissa Thomas, MD, MPH, of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. The authors represent a larger consortium, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine (CHARM), which includes members from a broad range of medical organizations. The charter project was supported by a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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