Background: In 2019, Banner Health innovated by launching Cultivating Happiness in Medicine (CHIM), which was Banner’s commitment to supporting physician and APP well-being and reducing burnout. The CHIM strategy is evidence-based, physician and APP driven, and holistic, supporting clinicians from individual wellness and organizational workplace environment perspectives. The six dimensions of the strategy include the following:· Design: Creating organizational systems that address the human needs for meaning, purpose, and autonomy in work.· Leaders: Developing leaders who will collaborate and engage with physicians and APPs as trusted partners and practice participative management by involving them in problem-solving and decision-making.· Social Community: Creating opportunities for physicians and APPs to build relationships with their colleagues and cultivate community and camaraderie.· Individual Wellness/Well-being: Promoting resources and programs that help physicians and APPs develop healthy habits such as mindfulness, resiliency, exercise, sleep, nutrition, mental/emotional health, and more.· Second Victims: Reducing preventable harm and supporting staff members involved with a preventable adverse patient event (second victims) by providing emotional and psychological support, addressing the root cause, and establishing a fair and just culture.· Pebbles: Removing sources of workflow, process, operational frustrations, and inefficiencies that act as the “pebble in your shoe.”
Purpose: CHIM’s purpose is to support well-being and reduce physician/APP burnout, help physicians and APPs achieve professional and personal fulfillment, become their best selves, and participate in inspired collaboration and empowered exploration. These aim to increase physician engagement, improve patient safety and quality, and enhance the patient experience.
Description: This poster demonstrates how CHIM has reduced physician & APP burnout at Banner Health. CHIM launched programs in each of the six dimensions, and these activities have led to positive outcomes. CHIM is led by a physician/APP system steering committee, which oversees the CHIM strategy, engages with front-line physicians and leaders to co-develop solutions and programs based on physician/APP feedback, and monitors progress via our Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) annual burnout survey. By incorporating a physician/APP-driven and holistic approach, CHIM has supported physicians from both the individual wellness and organizational workplace environment perspectives, resulting in a demonstrated reduction in physician/APP burnout. CHIM is a model for other healthcare organizations seeking a multi-faceted, evidence-based approach to reducing physician/APP burnout and improving well-being.
Conclusions: CHIM has reduced physician & APP burnout in Banner Health. Organizations are often quick to focus only on individual wellness (mindfulness, yoga, mental/emotional health resources, healthy living habits, etc.) without also focusing on improving the workplace environment (removing operational pebbles, enhancing leadership, supporting the social community, designing human systems for autonomy/purpose, supporting second victims). By focusing on supporting the individual physician/APP, improving the workplace environment, and ensuring that the efforts are physician/APP-led, CHIM has demonstrated a scalable and sustainable approach to reducing physician/APP burnout and enhancing well-being.
