Mount Sinai Health System Recognized by the American Medical Association for Efforts Combating Work-Related Stress and Burnout
Honored in 2021 Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program
The American Medical Association (AMA) has recognized the Mount Sinai Health System as a recipient of the 2021 Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program for a demonstrated commitment to preserving the well-being of health care team members by engaging in proven efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout. Mount Sinai was one of 44 health care organizations nationwide to receive the honor.
"On behalf of the Office of Well-Being and Resilience at Mount Sinai, we are delighted to be recognized as leaders in the space of well-being and resilience. This is clearly the validation of a large team effort to work hard in trying to understand what enables our workforce to best do their work in a community that cares about them. It also exemplifies the priority that the school and system place on well-being,” said Jonathan A. Ripp, MD, MPH, Dean for Well-Being and Resilience and Professor of Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, and Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We know that the pandemic has hurled a host of new stressors at us and that much work remains to optimize the work environment, but I am proud to be part of an institution that champions this and is committed to this journey. I am indebted to my team and the innumerable school and system leaders and champions who made it possible for us to be recognized for this award."
Work-related stress and burnout were issues for health care workers well before the pandemic and have been exacerbated because of it. Health care workers face high rates of depression, job dissatisfaction, and other work-related issues and Mount Sinai was determined to identify evidence-based solutions to address and prevent them. These, included launching the Mount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth in the spring of 2020 to prioritize the health and wellness of its workers, helping them recover and even become more resilient after the first COVID-19 surge in New York City. Using a multidisciplinary approach, the Center provides early interventions that build resilience while addressing the burnout, stress, and other signs of mental health illness experienced during this pandemic. The Center collaborates with and complements other Mount Sinai programs, such as those organized by the Office of Well-Being and Resilience.
A national study examining the experiences of physicians and other workers who worked in health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic found that 38 percent reported experiencing anxiety or depression, while 43 percent suffered from work overload and 49 percent had burnout.
Candidates for the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program were evaluated according to their documented efforts to reduce work-related burnout through system level drivers. Scoring criteria were based on demonstrated competencies in commitment, assessment, leadership, efficiency of practice environment, teamwork, and support.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary stress on physicians and other health care
professionals,” said AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, MD. “While it is always important for health systems to focus on the well-being of care teams, the imperative is greater than ever, as acute stress from combating the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to higher rates of work overload, anxiety, and depression. The health systems we recognize today are true leaders in promoting an organizational response that makes a difference in the lives of the health care workforce.”
Launched in 2019, the Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program is a component of the AMA’s practice transformation efforts, an ambitious initiative to advance evidence-based solutions that fill the knowledge gap in effective solutions to the physician burnout crisis.
“The recognition program offers a roadmap to guide health system leaders who are interested, engaged, and committed in efforts to fight the root causes of burnout in the health care workforce,” said AMA Vice President of Professional Satisfaction Christine Sinsky, MD. “The 44 health systems recognized this year by the AMA are creating momentum in the health care community for a united commitment to wide-spanning change in the culture of medicine that emphasizes professional well-being in health care.”
The AMA continues to work on every front to address the physician burnout crisis. Through research, collaborations, advocacy and leadership, the AMA is working to make the patient‐physician relationship more valued than paperwork, preventive care the focus of the future, technology an asset and not a burden, and physician burnout a thing of the past.
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.