National Academy of Medicine Talks about Physician Burnout

In response to concerning rates of depression, stress, and burnout among US medical students and clinicians, the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) launched the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience in 2017.

Incorporating input from experts in human factors and systems engineering and health informatics, as well as medical, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry experts and educators, the committee took a systems approach to clinician burnout.

The committee’s systems model for professional well-being and clinician burnout has 3 levels: frontline care delivery, health care organization, and external environment, which together influence the work system factors that contribute to clinician burnout and professional well-being. The work system factors often extend across more than 1 system level (care delivery, health care organization, and external environment), and improvement can occur at every level to relieve workplace stress. The recommendations from the report, organized under 6 overarching goals, reflect the crosscutting nature of the identified factors contributing to clinician burnout and professional well-being.

1. Create positive work environments

2. Create positive learning environments

3. Reduce administrative burden

4. Enable technology solutions

5. Provide support to clinicians and students

6. Invest in research