The Coalition for Physician Well-Being’s origins date back to 2010, when four people sat around a small table to consider the emerging evidence for physician burnout and the opportunity to contribute substantive remedies focusing on resilience, meaning, and purpose. Malcolm Herring, Dianne McCallister, Doug Wysockey-Johnson, and I met with a volunteer facilitator to guide our discussion and prod us to think creatively.
Today on this 75th Anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization, it is World Health Day. The focus on Health for All resonates in our exam rooms, communities, nation, and world more than ever. As we strive to improve the health of each individual by addressing barriers to care, remember the all needs to include healthcare professionals.
There’s Mother’s Day and Father’s Day; Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. There’s Independence Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day and many more named special days – perhaps not so well known, but nevertheless important to those who are honored and remembered on their special day.
It’s DEI for brevity, comprehension, convenience—Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. DEI has become a shorthand vehicle to communicate the universal values of relational integrity, intentional community, and investment in the well-being of all.
Happy New Year’s Resolutions!
Among the most common, perennial New Year’s Resolutions are:
As we enter the holiday season, I am reminded of how important relationships with my family, friends, and colleagues has meant to me. Family gatherings are always a special time for us. Our home is always filled with aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandparents and great-grandparents all enjoying Sabbath lunch and fellowship. The holidays are another blessing of more time together and more food to eat.
We are immensely grateful for the successful year that the Coalition for Physician Well-Being has experienced in 2022. Following two years of virtual conferences, the in-person attendance at our annual Joy & Wholeness Summit brought over 180 participants. Our membership now exceeds the 300 mark. Our podcast and monthly webinar continue to attract new followers, and our committees are actively pursuing new activities and developing innovative resources to address burnout and promote resiliency.
At a time when the incidence of physician burnout is at an all-time high, the work of the Coalition has never been more important. This past year, in collaboration with the Ardmore Institute of Health, we were able to provide paid scholarships for ten (10) residents to attend the Joy & Wholeness Summit in Denver, Colorado. Their engagement with the conference and their unanimous response to the conference theme and compelling presentations was overwhelming.
Your tax-deductible donation to the Coalition will help us reach our goal to provide twenty (20) resident scholarships for the 2023 conference which will be held in Park City, Utah, July 10-12. Thank you for joining us in investing in the training and development of young doctors for their personal wholeness and that of our entire profession.
Today’s medical residents are tomorrow’s health care heroes. That’s why fostering well-being, balance and fulfillment at this early stage in their careers is so critical. This #GivingTuesday, help give a medical resident an experience like no other by sponsoring their attendance at the 2023 Joy & Wholeness Summit. Contributions are tax deductible and most importantly, enable our future health care leaders to ensure that personal and professional well-being are foundational as they set on a journey to provide healing and hope to patients for years to come.
In 2004, a small group of individuals interested in the well-being of physicians met to discuss their observations and concerns about the fact that their colleagues were becoming disillusioned in ways previously unrecognized. They also hoped to uncover possible interventions to help allay this growing trend characterized by a sense of futility, decreased collegiality, and the erosion of traditional support systems in hospitals and physician communities.
For years, burnout, depression and various mental health issues have become more prevalent among health care professionals. The ongoing pandemic has only exacerbated these concerns. In fact, Medscape’s Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022 reveals that 47% of physicians say they are burned out, up from 42% last year. While many organizations and experts are working to develop and deploy resources and programs geared toward preventing and mitigating burnout, there is more work to be done.
The Coalition for Physician Well-Being would like to thank you for attending our 12th annual conference – the Joy & Wholeness Summit – in Denver! Its’ clear that this year’s gathering was our biggest and best yet!
