(22 March 2018) The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) today launched the Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub, a comprehensive online repository for health system leaders, clinicians, and trainees that contains resources highlighting promising approaches for combating clinician burnout, such as research and news articles, toolkits, peer-reviewed literature, and reports.
More than half of U.S. physicians experience burnout, a syndrome characterized by a high degree of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment at work. Nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and other health care professionals are also experiencing high rates of burnout, putting an unsustainable strain on the health care system.
Improving clinician well-being requires sustained action at the organizational, state, and national levels. This knowledge hub provides a comprehensive overview of the causes of clinician burnout; its consequences for health care professionals, patients, and their families; and innovative approaches that organizations can take to promote well-being.
“While challenges to promote clinician well-being are numerous, progress is possible. The NAM is proud to launch the Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub,” said National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau. “Our hope is that the knowledge hub will facilitate communication and learning, share promising solutions, and will encourage leaders to critically think about how burnout affects their organizations and to implement the solutions that are right for them.”
To explore the knowledge hub, visit nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing.
Launched in 2017, the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience is a network of organizations committed to reversing trends in clinician burnout, with the goals of raising the visibility of clinician burnout, improving understanding of challenges to clinician well-being, and elevating evidence-based, multidisciplinary solutions that will improve patient care by caring for the caregiver. The Action Collaborative will host a public meeting on May 2 in Washington, D.C. The meeting will feature Expressions of Clinician Well-Being, a pop-up art exhibition focused on clinician well-being.
The National Academy of Medicine, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields including health and medicine; the natural, social, and behavioral sciences; and beyond. It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the nation and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the NAM works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policy and inspire positive action across sectors. The NAM collaborates closely with its peer academies and other divisions within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The announcement is here.
