Addressing Systemic Causes of Physician Burnout: Improving Joy in Work

Abstract

Healthcare provider burnout has been shown to result in lower staff engagement levels and reduced work satisfaction, which correlates with lower patient experience scores, lower productivity, and increased workplace accidents. By making work engaging and restoring joy, healthcare leadership can reframe barriers to reduce burnout. This paper presents the results of an organizational system-wide intervention designed to rethink the approach to lowering burnout by improving joy in work to address provider well-being at the Guthrie healthcare system. System wide and targeted area strategies were used to create change over a 1-year interval of intervention. After endpoint data was collected, eight power items had positive change for this healthcare system. Scheduling and recognition emerged as system wide areas in need of reform.