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Medical Group Offers Steps to Address Physician Burnout
Framework and Principles on Well-Being Aim to Benefit Patients and Strengthen Health Care Systems
Newswise — (New York – March 29, 2018) – Physician burnout continues to be a pervasive issue, with more than 50 percent of doctors reporting problems such as dissatisfaction, high rates of depression, and increased suicide risk. To address it, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine—a group of medical educators, academic leaders, and wellness research experts from across the country co-chaired by Jonathan Ripp, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Well-Being and Resilience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai—has presented a framework for individuals, organizations, and health systems.
“The Charter on Physician Well-Being,” published online in JAMA on Thursday, March 29, at 11:00 am EDT and supported by the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges, is a model for health care organizations to develop regulations and policies that align with best practices for promoting physician well-being; identify strategic priorities and interventions that maximize meaningful engagement and job satisfaction; build partnerships with local and national groups that support advocacy efforts and collaborative solutions; and guide individual physicians in their own practices in service of both patient needs and individual fulfillment.
“Each day our physicians and clinicians care for patients and families in need in a constantly changing health care system,” said Dr. Ripp. “They are driven in this pursuit, often putting the patient first, but in some cases they suffer burnout and depression from overwhelming demands. The providers themselves also need to be supported in their mission with adequate resources and effective tools to promote well-being—ultimately, they and the patient will benefit.”
“The strength of a health care system is reliant on the health and well-being of our clinicians, faculty, and students,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, President for Academic Affairs at Mount Sinai Health System, and a renowned expert on the psychobiological mechanisms of human resilience to stress. “This is an important priority for Mount Sinai and many institutions across the country. This Charter provides a blueprint for addressing burnout and developing programs that optimize physical health and well-being.”
Charter co-authors are Colin P. West, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, and Larissa Thomas, MD, MPH, of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. The authors represent a larger consortium, the Collaborative for Healing and Renewal in Medicine (CHARM), which includes members from a broad range of medical organizations. The charter project was supported by a Mapping the Landscape, Journeying Together grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of 3 medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”, aligned with a U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” Hospital, No. 13 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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