Tragically, anywhere from 300 to 400 physicians die by suicide each year. Given this sad reality, there’s a strong need for healthcare organizations to have a planful response in the wake of a tragedy. Specifically, a strategy in place to guide how an organization responds, recovers and re-stablishes their work culture so awareness increases and the risk of suicide decreases with the goal of zero.
Events that can precipitate traumatic stress reactions in physicians range dramatically from minor coding errors to patient deaths. And while not everyone is traumatized to the same degree by a given event, suffering is universally experienced overtime in this position. To provide physicians the support they need, we must understand what the ripple effect of trauma for physicians is. And most importantly—how to dampen the wave.
Early career physicians beginning their careers are energetic, committed and anxious to please. They also have specific expectations, particularly with regard to well-being. Bob Leschke, MD and VITAL WorkLife Peer Coach provides us an overview of this segment of physicians and how to best attract, onboard, support and retain them in his latest article.
In 2017, statistics showed more women than men were enrolled in the first year of medical school. Penelope Hsu, a pediatrician and VITAL WorkLife Peer Coach walks us through the gender shift that’s happening in healthcare, what women in medicine are most concerned about for their career and how well-being support will be key to best empower this group of physicians.
We’re currently seeing unprecedented levels of PTSD in the medical community spurred from the past three years of a global pandemic compounded with previously existing challenges in the healthcare field. Susan Wilson, MD, CPC helps give us insight into the climate in healthcare, why there’s reason for hope in a post pandemic healthcare system and how physicians can use the traumatic past years as a means for growth.
With the stress of modern medicine today, it leaves physicians needing and seeking additional support only to realize their organization doesn’t have a formal program to offer them. But, they can become advocates for one, and there are a few best practices to follow to help support this process and set them up for success.
Unfortunately, there is a deep seated stigma in the healthcare industry for physicians to seek mental and well-being help. In this article based on personal experience, Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH, PCC sets the stage for why this strong stigma exists, its pervasive nature in healthcare culture and important strategies to help banish this stigma from existence.
Since 2020, 18 percent of healthcare workers have quit their jobs, with many surveys indicating 20-50 percent of physicians and nurses stating they’re ready to quit in the next year. Dr. Paul DeChant, an internationally recognized expert on clinician well-being outlines the six drivers of this crisis, how the pandemic played a role and important strategies for how leaders can face this head on.
As a healthcare leader, you understand and prioritize the well-being of your employees at your organization. You’re ready to implement something, but how do you start? In this article, Vanessa Downing, PhD, provides an overview of how to get started and thoughtful considerations on how to evaluate your organization’s needs and goals for a well-being program.
In this article, V. Simon Mittal, MD, MMM, Physician Consultant at VITAL WorkLife provides an overview of how to audit where you currently are in your well-being journey with key action steps to get you to a place where you’d like to be. This helps answer the question, is your organization ready to fully and robustly implement a well-being program?
In this article, V. Simon Mittal, MD, MMM, Physician Consultant at VITAL WorkLife, provides an overview of the wide range of concerns for physicians and the importance of early identification. He also examines what administrators should look for at an org level, what colleagues should look for in their peers and how to approach them, as well as what physicians should notice about themselves.
As healthcare leaders look for ways to better control costs, physician well-being is emerging as one of the wisest investments an organization can make. In this article, Mitchell Best, VITAL WorkLife CEO, looks at the impact of physician burnout and the importance of a well-being program. A well-being program can impact the quality and cost of care along with the viability of the organization.
As we began to recover from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear the hardships clinicians have endured would have long-lasting ramifications. In describing what he hopes will become the compassionate “new normal,” Dr. Gaurava Agarwal points to some of the lessons the pandemic has taught us.
When the COVID-19 pandemic was continuing on longer than many predicted, it was important to ensure the well-being of clinicians on the frontlines. Download our article by Dr. Susan Wilson, to learn more about the importance of caring for your clinicians' well-being and practical advice on how to navigate the complex needs of your organization.
In 2020, everyone in the world was hoping for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download our article by Guarava Agarwal, MD, to learn more about how healthcare organizations can take steps to ensure their team members are adequately cared for during crises.
A recent study has shown physicians report less burnout and emotional exhaustion after receiving coaching from a peer. Coaching gives clinicans tools to progress in his or her life and career—to get out of “stuck” spots and become happier and more productive. Download our article to understand the value of peer coaching and its promising benefits.
Advanced practitioners—physicians assistants and advanced practice registered nurses—are changing American healthcare and are experiencing the kind of stress and burnout often found in physicians. This article takes a look at the growing importance advanced practice providers carry in providing a holistic approach to healthcare.
More and more healthcare organizations are coming to realize promoting and supporting physician well-being is a crucial responsibility—and a bottom-line issue. This article helps define what a well-being advocate program is, explain how to get started with one and how to maximize their potential.
There’s a painful fact about medicine today, one practitioners and healthcare organizations are often hesitant to talk about: physicians choose to end their lives at a rate around twice the rest of the general population. Download "Healing the Healer: Providing a Path to Physician Suicide Prevention" to learn more about the drivers of physician suicide and actions for prevention.
Burnout begins with stress, and while medicine is inherently stressful given what’s at stake—human life and health—contemporary medicine has some well-documented extra stressors. This article takes a look at the issues facing early career physicians as well as solutions for ending the burnout cycle.
No one who administers a healthcare organization needs to be told how critical recruitment and retention of the best physicians and nurses are. Every organization wants excellent talent and the cost of staff turnover is prohibitive. Learn more in our article addressing the impact of organizational culture on retention.
Teamwork has become crucial in contemporary healthcare and the reasons are multiple. As teams of physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, techs and other medical professionals face these interdisciplinary challenges, it’s important they find ways to work together at an optimal level of cooperation—because failure to do so is a source of real trouble.
Millennials are making their way into medicine in a big way. There’s been a flood of description and analysis of this generation, with pundits generally oscillating between a negative and a positive pole. Regardless of viewpoints, ensuring a positive work environment for all participating members of your care team is an objective necessary for a productive healthcare organization.
It’s not too surprising for a physician to occasionally grow short with a colleague or a patient. But what happens when a physician’s action crosses the line—from merely being idiosyncratic, blowing off steam or from giving necessary criticism—into disruption?
The American medical profession is aging at a rapid rate. The graying of the profession has prompted concerns about quality of care and patient safety. It's a sensitive issue and it can pit potential age discrimination against quality care. Learn how to maximize the wealth of knowledge from your aging physicians and see steps to creating an off-boarding program for your organization.
The word, “resilience” makes some physicians see red, especially when their healthcare organizations call attention to the need for them to be resilient. Granted, resilience is important for handling stress and avoiding burnout with all of the associated problems, including the impact to quality of care.
When a healthcare organization acquires a medical practice or organizations merge, both parties usually have intense hopes and expectations—some of them completely unrealistic. And there can be some truly toxic results. This article shows a realistic view of a M&A in healthcare and depicts a practical approach to a successful M&A.
Learn how organizational leadership and culture impacts physician burnout as well, factors behind a healthy organizational culture, and strategies for improving physician leadership.
