In the Department of Medicine, caring for our patients is at the core of what we do. As physicians, we strive to provide excellent care in addition to achieving our academic missions at the university. The ongoing challenges of increased patient needs, rising complexity of care, administrative duties and reduced resources, not to mention a global pandemic, have taken a toll on our overall wellbeing. Clinician or care provider experience is recognized as an important part of the sustained success of our health care system and has been established as the fourth pillar of the quadruple aim for providing quality care. Poor provider wellbeing has been linked to poor quality of patient care and diminished patient experience.
Burnout is real and happens. The recent CMA National Physicians Survey showed that 30% of physicians meet the defined definitions of burnout. In order for us to take care of our patients and to be productive members of the Department, we need to take care of ourselves. We need to prevent burnout in ourselves and our colleagues. We need to support each other in the DoM, and we need a system that supports us to do the work, academic and clinical, that we all are capable of doing.
At the DoM, we are committed to building this system. For too long the discussion around physician burnout and wellness has centered around individual adaptation and concepts such as personal resilience. We are working to measure and examine the institution and system level factors that influence our wellness. Efficiency of practice and support in managing work/life balance is essential to ensuring a fulfilled, healthy and engaged Department of Medicine.
Wellness isn’t just about being stronger and learning to cope. It is about taking care of ourselves and each other, strengthening supports for faculty and learners, and working to enact change at the institution and system level to produce a culture of wellness for our community and for our patients.
