Impact Wellbeing Guide: insights from healthcare leaders on improving care team wellbeing

12.26.2024

by Liz Boehm
Executive Strategist, Human-Centered Research

Nearly every healthcare leader is aware that the incidence and severity of burnout among clinicians has reached crisis levels. Most are also aware that burnout is not a failure of personal resilience, but is the individual manifestation of system inefficiencies, inequities and dysfunction. Knowing those two things is helpful, but it still leaves many leaders at a loss for what to do to solve the problem. System challenges are often baked into ingrained processes, budget challenges and infrastructure that don’t turn on a dime. Many leaders need resources to help guide effective change – especially when the lives of patients and the safety and wellbeing of care team members hang in the balance.

In an episode of the Caring Greatly podcast, I had the opportunity to talk to John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, MBA, and Stefanie Simmons, MD, FACEP, to discuss the Impact Wellbeing Guide, a free, self-paced change management toolkit that guides leaders through evidence-informed approaches to foster a healthier, more sustainable environment for their teams. The Guide was co-created by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation (DLBHF) to give leaders clear steps to carry out the broader recommendations from the U.S. Surgeon General and National Academy of Medicine.

A guide centered on system change and building trust

The authors of the Guide recognize that burnout comes from system failures and that trust is an essential component of both long-term system resilience and the degree of burnout felt by individual clinicians. As a result, the recommended actions are centered around system change and building trust. These are:

1. Review your hospital’s operations to identify and align existing efforts and resources.

2. Build your professional wellbeing team to guide the collective system efforts.

3. Break down barriers for help-seeking to help clinicians who are currently suffering get the support they need without fear of reprisal.

4. Communicate your commitment to professional wellbeing to help change the culture and invite input from those best positioned to guide system improvement.

5. Integrate professional wellbeing into quality improvement to ensure that ongoing quality improvement initiatives intentionally support professional wellbeing.

6. Develop your long-term professional wellbeing plan to ensure continuous improvement and sustained change.

Before release, early versions of the Impact Wellbeing Guide were tested across several hospitals to ensure its applicability in a range of settings and systems. The testing led to refinements based on real-world experiences, as well as the addition of key tools and resources to make change as easy as possible. It also allowed the team to collect data showing improvements in clinician satisfaction and engagement, factors that are known to impact organizational outcomes including improved quality and patient experience as well as reduced clinician turnover which has significant financial implications.

Taking the first step towards clinican wellbeing

For leaders just beginning their journey into fostering care team wellbeing, John and Stefanie offered practical advice: start small but be intentional. Whether it’s implementing regular check-ins with staff or reducing administrative burdens, small changes can have a profound impact on how supported and valued healthcare team members feel. They stressed that the wellbeing of healthcare providers should not be seen as a secondary concern. By investing in clinician wellbeing, organizations can create more resilient teams that are better equipped to handle the demands of their roles.

Guiding trasformation for a brighter future

Successful healthcare leaders are called to create a culture of support, where clinicians and other team members can thrive rather than just survive. The Impact Wellbeing Guide gives leaders a firm foundation for building system resilience and a culture of safety and wellbeing. Just as burnout stems from system failures, its impact reverberates far beyond a individual’s experience of burnout—it affects entire teams, systems and ultimately patient care. As Stefanie noted in our conversation, every healthcare leader, regardless of the size of their organization, can start making changes and improvements today. The Impact Wellbeing Guide offers them a way to create and sustain work environments that support the mental, emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing of all care team members. Those who care for our patients and families deserve organizations that support their personal and professional wellbeing.

Impact Wellbeing Guide: insights from healthcare leaders on improving care team wellbeing

12.26.2024

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