The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) today launched the Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub, a comprehensive resource repository that provides clinicians and health system leaders with valuable resources to combat clinician burnout in their organizations and personal lives. The knowledge hub is part of the Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, of which the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) is a network organization.
More than half of U.S. physicians currently experience burnout, a syndrome characterized by a high degree of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a low sense of personal accomplishment at work. Nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and other health care professionals are also experiencing alarming rates of burnout, putting an unsustainable strain on the health care system. The prevalence of burnout is higher among women in these professions than among men.
Improving clinician well-being requires sustained attention and action at the local, state, and national levels. The Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub provides a comprehensive overview of the causes of clinician burnout; its consequences for health care professionals, patients, and their families; and innovative approaches that organizations can take to promote clinician well-being. This easy-to-navigate resource center includes research articles, news articles, blog posts, toolkits, reports, and briefs on clinician burnout and well-being. AMWA is working with the National Academy in developing a report on the issue of burnout among female physicians that will be posted on the NAM website. Organizations and individuals can also submit their own resources to the knowledge hub. The knowledge hub provides a central source for health system leaders, clinicians, and trainees, to not only better understand what’s causing burnout, but to adopt solutions that promise a brighter, healthier future.
“While challenges to promote clinician well-being are numerous, progress is possible. The NAM is proud to launch the Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub,” said National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau. “Our hope is that the knowledge hub will not only elevate promising solutions, but will encourage leaders to critically think about how burnout affects their organizations and to implement the solutions that are right for them.”
To explore the knowledge hub, please visit nam.edu/ClinicianWellBeing.
Launched in 2017, the Action Collaborative is a network of organizations committed to reversing trends in clinician burnout, with the goals of raising the visibility of clinician burnout, improving understanding of challenges to clinician well-being, and elevating evidence-based, multidisciplinary solutions that will improve patient care by caring for the caregiver. The Action Collaborative will host a public meeting on May 2 in Washington, DC. The meeting will feature Expressions of Clinician Well-Being, an art exhibition focused on clinician well-being. The NAM is also currently developing a consensus study on “Systems Approaches to Improve Patient Care by Supporting Clinician Well-Being”. If you are interested in supporting the consensus study, please email ClincianWellBeing@nas.edu.
