How to Support Academic Physician Well-Being: Individual and Organizational Strategies
摘要
The well-being of physicians has personal, professional, and public health ramifications. A physician’s personal health and well-being are not only vital to the individual physician and their family members and community but may also affect that physician’s life professionally. Moreover, on a larger societal scale, physician wellness serves a critical role in the delivery of high-quality health care. When physicians are unwell, the performance of health-care systems can be negatively affected. Mental health and well-being contribute to the solid foundation on which physicians can be resilient in the face of challenges and optimally address the many stresses of professional life and clinical work. But even for those physicians who understand this connection and are motivated to improve their situation, the real rub comes in garnering the readiness to overcome stigma and fear, as well as practical obstacles of time and energy. Limitations of time and energy are very real, and after the essential tasks of one’s work and personal responsibilities are fulfilled, physicians may feel there is little energy left for the proactivity required to create change that could lead to improvement in health and well-being. This chapter will provide strategies to address ways academic physicians can optimally balance work and personal life, as well as the role of the workplace in supporting physician well-being.