More and more healthcare organizations are coming to realize promoting and supporting physician well being is a crucial responsibility—and a bottom-line issue. Physicians facing burnout or other behavioral health problems may make medical errors and create a host of other issues, while making well being a priority can increase physician engagement and retention and also serve as a recruiting tool.
Fostering Well Being
The ultimate goal of physician well being initiatives is the fostering of a culture of well being throughout the organization, and a powerful step leaders can take in this direction is to create the role of Well Being Advocate.
VITAL WorkLife has developed a Well Being Advocate Program to help organizations find and prepare Advocates—physicians within the organization who watch out for signs colleagues may be suffering from burnout, depression or other problems, while also being prepared to offer ongoing support in non-crisis situations like the desire for professional advancement. Advocates connect physicians and advanced practitioners with the specific resources VITAL WorkLife has to offer in support of well being.
The Ultimate Goal
Well Being Advocates are chosen by their organizations for their ability to connect with a broad range of colleagues and go through an onboarding process where they learn the business case for physician well being, explore issues like stress and burnout, master the range of resources VITAL WorkLife offers and practice the best ways to approach a colleague who may be in trouble. They also commit to assessing their own well being and modeling self-care.
The goal: weaving the importance of well being and the existence of well being resources into the fabric of the organization.
For more on the importance of establishing a Well Being Advocate Program within your healthcare organization, download our Article "How to Improve Culture with a Well Being Advocate Program."
