Faculty wellness in academic medicine: Addressing stressors in the workplace

Burnout is widely regarded as a syndrome resulting from chronic occupational stress. While physician burnout has been the subject of extensive research, physician wellness has been proposed as an alternative framework for understanding physician distress.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the organizational context of faculty wellness within an academic health care system.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 chairs of clinical and non-clinical departments in a US university school of medicine.

Chairs described several system-level factors perceived to interfere with faculty wellness such as a stricter regulatory environment, the loss of professional autonomy, the up or out promotion system, limitless hours, and the rise of shadow work. While all chairs articulated some degree of responsibility for the wellness of their faculty, some said they lacked the skills or knowledge of resources to fully engage in this role.

Findings from this study are consistent with recent research on physician burnout, which has pivoted from describing burnout as an individual responsibility to including the professional, organizational, and societal factors which likely contribute to physician job satisfaction and well-being. As health care organizations, including academic medical centers, move toward systems-based solutions for physician occupational health, it will be incumbent upon organizational leaders to make administrative decisions favoring physician wellness.