The Imitation of Christ as a Model for Physician Wellness

Physician burnout, studied for over fifty years in scientific literature, has been shown to negatively affect physician health, patient care, and the healthcare system. While various commendable systemic and individualistic approaches have been described and actively implemented to minimize burnout, it is important to also consider approaches to maximize physician wellness. For the Catholic physician, the ultimate model of wellness is Jesus Christ, the Divine Physician. In this article, we propose that the physician can follow the spiritual progress model of wellness presented in The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis to address burnout.