Societal Commitment - Foster a Trustworthy and Supportive Culture in Medicine

"Alignment between the stated values of medicine and actual practice is essential for enhancing engagement in work and trust in the profession. Individual physicians and physician leaders have a responsibility to examine the extent to which the culture of medicine, broadly and locally, facilitates meaning, fulfillment in practice, and professionalism. To encourage a supportive culture, leaders could identify and minimize perceived discrepancies between organizational and individual values, promote community and connection at work, and recognize the innate value of individuals beyond their professional achievements. Individual physicians, especially those in leadership or educational roles, could practice and role model self-compassion and vulnerability as essential components of physician practice."
from the Charter on Physician Well-Being, JAMA. 2018;319(15):1541-1542. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.1331

​Research, Articles & Ideas

Compassion in Medicine

Check out  Notre Dame’s Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care in Medicine. Their research has largely focused on applying the science of compassion to clinical practice and clinician self-care, a growing field of study that employs advances in biology, neuroscience and psychology to help better educate and equip doctors to withstand the trials of the job.

Leadership Style Impacts Physician Well-Being

Montgomery, Shanafelt, and others have documented the clear link between leadership and the increase or reduction of physician well-being.
In a large Mayo Clinic study of physicians, leaders were rated and given a composite leadership score on a validated measurement tool. For each 1-point increase in in the score, there was an associated 3.3% decrease in the likelihood of burnout (P<.001) and a 9.0% increase in the likelihood of satisfaction (P<.001) of the physicians supervised.

How physicians leaders take care of themselves also has a powerful effect on their perceived effectiveness as a leader. Shanafelt's 2020 study, demonstrated close association between physician leaders own self-care practices, sense of professional fulfillment, and burnout with how well others thought they were performing as a leader.

Self-Compassion

Dr. Colin West demonstrated that physicians overall do not have a deficit in resilience, compared to the general employed US physician population. However, the one area they are lower in is self-compassion, which can be overcome through individual coaching, according to one preliminary study at Stanford.

SW Idaho Resources and Examples

Peer to Peer Programs

Peer to Peer programs are confidential, personal outreach and support to providers involved in a significant or adverse event without fear of disclosure. Brigham and Women's Hospital's Dr. Jo Shapiro is a leader in this movement and the program is offered locally at both Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke's.

Schwartz Center Rounds

Schwartz Rounds are a place where people who don’t usually talk about the heart of the work are willing to share their vulnerability, to question themselves. These monthly interdisciplinary forums provide a opportunity for dialogue that does not usually  happen anywhere else in the hospital.