AMA: Nine institutions made major improvements in physician burnout
Physician burnout is a widespread problem across the healthcare industry, but nine organizations stand out in their commitment and progress to prevent and alleviate the issue, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
AMA is currently working on addressing the causes of physician burnout. Symptoms of burnout affect about half of doctors––a rate that is nearly twice that of other American workers.
Here are the nine organizations identified by AMA:
- Mayo Clinic––using group meetings to improve well-being, Mayo Clinic found semi-structured private discussions with physicians in restaurants, coffee shops or reserved rooms lead to lower burnout and social isolation, as well as higher job satisfaction.
- Stanford Medicine––allowing physicians to bank overtime for later allowed colleagues to meet work and home responsibilities and minimize burnout-induced departures.
- Bellin Health––a new team-based care model boosted job satisfaction to 92 percent since it was implemented in 2014.
- Carilion Clinic––after about three in five physicians reported burnout, Carilion pursued seven innovative ideas and initiatives, from creating a central well-being committee to adding support for interdepartmental exchange of ideas to improve well-being.
- Yale School of Medicine––with a focus on reducing clicks and increasing time spent with patients, Yale determined the need for a systemwide approach to improve burnout.
- Henry Ford Hospital––surveys revealed lower burnout rates on average, but Henry Ford still implemented burnout prevention strategies focused on culture and finding meaning in work.
- University of Utah Health––leaders initiated a multifaceted assessment to identify new opportunities for improvement.
- Cleveland Clinic––a new team-based care model helped drive increases in physician well-being.
- Johns Hopkins––monthly events helped ease stresses among medical students, about half of which had reported symptoms of burnout.