Self in medicine: Determinants of physician well-being and future directions in improving wellness

Medicine, a profession dedicated to the wellness of patients, is struggling with a crisis of physician and trainee wellness. Physicians and trainees are burning out at alarming rates. Historically, medicine has been characterised by challenging working conditions and inattention to physician wellness and self-care. Healthy physicians are better at promoting wellness to their patients, and physicians who are suffering from burnout can deliver compromised patient care.

In recent years, research has increasingly focused on the causes of unwellness among doctors, and a broad range of health determinants have been identified. Studies of interventions for improving trainee and physician wellness have identified individual-focused and organisational approaches that can address the root causes of burnout. Insights from the corporate workplace may help guide interventions. Strategies for addressing physician burnout and improving wellness will involve innovative and multifaceted approaches. Despite a growing emphasis of physician wellness in the literature, implementation of wellness interventions is lagging, and quality improvement methods can address these challenges.

Physician wellness is a shared responsibility among doctors, health care organisations and governing bodies. Addressing burnout and improving physician wellness will require transformational change and the embracement of a culture of wellness in medicine. Quality improvement methods are the next step in identifying effective wellness interventions and the targeted groups of physicians and trainees who will most benefit.