Enhancing physician satisfaction by improving organizational well-being is a top priority of the American Medical Association. This priority is at the center of the AMA Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program, which recognizes health systems that have met the standard of care for physician well-being and provides a roadmap for those looking to improve in these areas.
This innovative program was presented at Becker's 14th Annual Meeting in a discussion moderated by Jim Gilligan, vice president, health system and group engagement at the American Medical Association.
Joining the discussion were panelists:
Nigel Girgrah, MD — Chief wellness officer and medical director, liver transplantation, at Ochsner Health
Jane Fogg, MD — Former chair, internal medicine, Atrius Health; AMA senior physician advisor
Nancy Nankivil — Director, AMA organizational well-being
Note: Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
Key takeaways from the panel discussion:
1: The post-pandemic workforce crisis underscored the importance of prioritizing clinician well-being to keep these professionals from leaving the industry and thus impeding health systems’ ability to deliver quality, timely care.
"I strongly believe clinician well-being is the most important quality indicator. There was a time a couple of years ago where our workforce shortages became scary to me — I believe these shortages became scary to many across the industry. I think it became obvious that workforce issues were an existential threat to being able to deliver healthcare in the country." - Dr. Girgrah
2: Four weeks of paid time off (PTO) is shown to combat burnout and reduce intention to leave in newly published research.
"Individuals need to hit an aggregate of at least four weeks of PTO for there to be a favorable impact on burnout as well as on intention to leave." - Dr. Fogg
3: Shared accountability and leadership support are essential for organizational well-being.
"Other key ingredients for success include executive sponsorship, a sense of shared accountability around the problem, project management, support and leadership." - Dr. Girgrah
4: Measurement and data analysis are critical for developing and implementing strategies to support and improve organizational well-being.
"I think that measurement is incredibly important. For those that are in charge of service lines, quality improvement or large groups of physicians, you know it is challenging to improve what you do not measure. The same holds true when working with organizational drivers of well-being." - Ms. Nankivil